A Tamil hunger striker who was accused of eating a burger during protests in parliament square has won substantial damages from two newspapers.

Parameswaran Subramanyam began a 23 say protest in April of last year to raise awareness of the plight of Tamils during Sri Lanka’s civil war.

The High Court heard articles in the Daily Mail and The Sun claimed police saw him eating a burger using covert surveillance and as a result of the lies he lost friends.