Freelance journalist Shiv Malik injured covering student protests

Freelance journalist Shiv Malik has been injured while reporting for the Guardian at today's student protests over university tuition fees in London.

Ed Howker, a journalist who writes for the Spectator and co-author with Malik of the book Jilted Generation, told Journalism.co.uk that Malik had been taken to hospital and was having his head stitched after allegedly being hit by a police baton.

According to a report by Malik published on the Guardian's protest liveblog, he was wounded while caught between the police line and students in Parliament Square at the the junction with Victoria Street.

Malik has been filing reports for the Guardian's website this week about the protests and was tweeting from the scene today until around 2pm.

"The crowd surged in an attempt to break through the police line, and I was caught on the same side as the police but facing towards them with the fence behind me. The fence came right up to the police line. The police started to push back then they started using their batons on protestors. I was caught then and pushed up towards the front. I ducked, my glasses were knocked off my face so I was trying to hold them. Then, basically, a baton strike came to the side of my face and then onto the top of my head. Directly onto the crown of my head. I felt a big whacking thud and I heard it reverberating inside my head," reads Malik's report on Guardian.co.uk.

"I wasn't sure whether I was bleeding or not. I moved off to the side and asked a police officer if I was bleeding. But he just said 'Keep moving, keep moving". Then I put my hand to the top of my head and looked at my palm and I could see there was blood everywhere. I then asked another police officer, who was wearing a police medic badge, if he could help me. And he told me to move away as well and told me to go to another exit.

"By this point blood was streaming down the back of my head and back of my neck and matting my hair. I was wearing a roll neck jumper and it was seeping into the back of my jumper. I managed to come off to one side and make my way out where two protesting student helped me. They were cleaning the top of my head with water and some tissues. Someone in the crowd gave me a whole pack of Kleenex. Then two female protestors escorted me out. I had to walk all the way up to Leicester Square where I managed to catch a cab."

News of Malik's injuries were first tweeted by New Statesman blogger Laurie Penny. A tweet sent by Malik at around 4:30pm says: "Dear all thanks for wishes, going to a&e for stitches after strike to had [sic] from police baton but I'm good. Rough out there..."

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk, both the Metropolitan Police and London Ambulance Service said they could not comment on individual reports of injuries at this time. The ambulance service has released a statement saying its has treated six patients in total.

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