Image caption Sir Christopher Meyer was the British ambassador to the US between 1997 and 2003

An ex-British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer, is in hospital after being attacked at an underground station in London.

His wife, Lady Catherine Meyer, said he was changing Tube lines at Victoria Station on Wednesday afternoon when he was set upon.

She said he may have a broken nose and his eye was swollen "like a balloon".

Police said two teenagers had been arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

A 16-year-old boy from Hillingdon and a 15-year-old girl from Croydon have been released under investigation while enquiries continue.

Describing her husband's condition Lady Meyer said: "He is not allowed to eat or drink.

"He's a strong lad and his spirits are not bad. He has a patch over his left eye which has thankfully stopped bleeding."

He is waiting to hear whether or not he would be operated on for injuries to his hand and face, she added.

Image copyright Lady Catherine Meyer Image caption This image of Sir Christopher in hospital was supplied by his family

Lady Meyer said: "I am a wife who is angry that her husband has been beaten badly.

"As you get older it's harder to recover from this sort of thing."

She added: "I think we really need to stop this, if you can't walk in London because of fear of being attacked brutally.

"99% [of people] are kind and nice, but 1% are nasty.

"We need to look at the facts and start doing something more aggressive against this type of violence... we need to be tougher."

British Transport Police urged any witnesses to the incident to call them on 0800 40 50 40 or text 61016, with the reference 334 of 11 July.