TWO blood-soaked Oxford University students wrestled on the stone staircase of the Oxford Union after a row broke out in the president’s room.

Kai Muller and Anton Baskerville clashed at an evening to celebrate the handover from one president to another.

The confrontation led to Mr Muller, a one-time president of the university’s Finance Society, being charged with smashing a glass in the face of Mr Baskerville.

The 22-year-old St Anne’s College student was yesterday cleared by jurors at Oxford Crown Court of unlawfully wounding the University College student.

Giving evidence during his three-day trial, Mr Muller said the event, on March 13 last year, featured a free bar and he had helped himself to about “150ml to 200ml of whisky and vodka”.

Prosecutor Jonathan Stone alleged Mr Muller app-roached Mr Baskerville, who was manning the sound system, and asked him his name at about 2am.

Mr Stone said the question elicited “quite an arrogant answer along the lines of ‘I don’t need to answer your questions’”.

He said Mr Muller then leant over the seated Mr Baskerville to reach for a computer mouse before a confrontation broke out.

Mr Muller, who denied reaching for the mouse but admitted “gently touching his shoulder”, said his memory of what happened next was hazy.

He said: “I didn’t expect what happened – I didn’t really know what was going on.

“I really don’t know what happened, I cannot really recollect.”

He said Mr Baskerville stood up and confronted him and he had pushed him away.

Mr Muller then noticed blood coming from Mr Baskerville’s face. He told the court: “I didn’t know how I could have injured him so badly by pushing him away.”

He added: “For me this whole thing was someone jumping up on me super- aggressively.”

One witness said he saw the remnants of a smashed glass in Mr Muller’s hand but the defendant said he had no recollection of holding such an item at the time.

Mr Muller said Mr Bask-erville tried to take his photograph in the immediate aftermath but friends got between the pair and he ran out of the room.

Jurors heard Mr Bask-erville caught up with Mr Muller on the staircase and tackled the defendant, putting him in a headlock before the scuffle was broken up.

Police were called and Mr Muller was arrested as he walked home.

His tutor Prof Peter Wilshaw gave character evidence in his support.

The jury of nine men and three women took under two hours to unanimously find Mr Muller not guilty of unlawful wounding.