THE MP whose U-turn helped Tony Blair win the student tuition fees vote cancelled a talk last night because of a planned protest.

Nick Brown, Labour MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, went from hero to villain for thousands of students when he voted for the controversial proposals, having campaigned vigorously against the higher charges for university students.

His switch took 12 other rebels MPs over to the Government side and enabled the Higher Education Bill to get its second reading with a majority of five.

Now he has angered students even more by calling off an engagement at Durham University because he feared being "jostled" by protestors.

He had been due to give a talk titled Labour Values, Labour Government to the university's Fabian Society, at St Chad's College.

Durham Students Union (DSU), which branded Mr Brown "a sell out", said it planned to show the depth of feeling by establishing what it called a "U-turn roadblock" at the college entrance.

Mr Brown said: "It's just a student stunt and what is the point in going to that?"

DSU campaigns officer Chris Lane said: "As I explained to Nick Brown's office, a police presence was arranged, no jostling would be involved and the plan was to turn our backs in silence."