THE MOTHER of a teenager who was violently attacked has been asked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take part in a review of the support available to victims of crime.

Liz Webster, whose son Henry suffered a brain injury in a vicious gang assault at Ridgeway School in Wroughton three years ago, will be encouraged to share her views with an official consultation on how families in similar situations can be better helped in future.

Mrs Webster, who with Henry met Mr Brown in the Houses of Parliament yesterday, said she told the PM they had not received the support she had expected from the school or the education authority following the incident on the school’s tennis courts in 2007.

A total of 13 people were convicted for their part in the attack, which involved a claw hammer, and given sentences ranging from eight months to eight years.

An attempt by the Webster family to win compensation from the school to help pay for Henry’s subsequent medical and educational needs was rejected by the High Court last month.

A serious case review panel, which is currently considering the case, is expected to publish its report by May this year.

Sources close to Number 10 said yesterday the PM had been “extremely impressed by Mrs Webster as an advocate for better rights for victims” and believed there were “valuable lessons to be learnt from what happened to Henry and Liz’s experience as a mother”.

Anne Snelgrove, Labour MP for South Swindon, said: “Gordon Brown asked Mrs Webster if she would contribute to the consultation taking place by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the rights of victims. She is going to be put in contact with the consultation and the MoJ. Not everybody I take to see the prime minister makes their points as well as Liz did.”

Speaking after meeting the prime minister, Mrs Webster said: “He was very sympathetic and made us aware he believes what we went through was terrible and shouldn’t be allowed to happen. He’s a parent too and he doesn’t want another child to be attacked at school. Ministers are waiting for the case review and they will go through it in some detail.”

She added: “I hope the review is going to get to the bottom of how my son was exposed to this horrific attack.”

Henry, now 19 and requiring continuing medical and teaching support, said: “I don’t want anything like this to happen to anyone else but I am mainly trying to put this behind me and move on.”