With just an electioneering banner hiding his modesty, Joshua Connor stripped naked to promote his dedication to honest and open democratic debate when standing in a student election.

But, the failed presidential candidate for his Students’ Union was on Saturday identified as being at the centre of a scuffle aimed at stifling freedom of speech at a university where Jacob Rees Mogg was the guest speaker.

The event descended into a fracas in which punches were seemingly thrown and the Conservative politician was forced to intervene to hold both sides apart while police were called.

Now, Andreea Dumitrache, a 25-year-old female student at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, has claimed she was “punched” by a middle-aged man who appeared to be trying to eject her and her friend, Mr Connor, 24, along with eight anti-Fascists protesters.

The group, many of them wearing masks to conceal their identity, targeted the event on Friday claiming the politician should not be heard in a public forum.