Foster, the Australian man at the centre of the so-called 'Cheriegate' affair that caused embarrassment to Tony Blair four years ago, was arrested by police in Fiji on Wednesday.

He had been wanted for questioning for several weeks in connection with an alleged internet plot to harm the reputation of a hotel development.

Louise Foster was quoted in the Australian press as claiming that her son is on hunger strike in protest at alleged police brutality. She claimed to have fears for her son's health after visiting him in hospital in Suva.

"I just saw Peter and I got the shock of my life, " she told reporters. "He has refused all food since being admitted. He will remain on a hunger strike until the truth is revealed."

Peter Foster was arrested on Wednesday after police caught up with him in a resort near Suva. Police claim Foster jumped into a river in a bid to escape arrest, but was apprehended.

The officer leading the investigation said Foster was injured by the propeller of a motor boat when he surfaced after diving under water. However, Foster claims to have been struck with an oar by a police officer during the arrest.

The 44-year-old will be questioned by police in Fiji in relation to the alleged attempt to discredit a proposed hotel development. Police are due to begin questioning him tomorrow, and even if no charges are brought against him, it is almost certain that Foster will be deported from Australia as the government revoked his visa last month.

Lawyers for Foster have said they will be filing an official complaint against police officers for their conduct during his arrest.

"He [a police officer] had an anchor in his hand and he yelled out 'come here or I'll kill you', " claimed Louise Foster when describing her son's arrest. "Then he picked up an oar, a really heavy oar, and he bashed him over the head, similar to clubbing the seals."

She claimed that her son had not volunteered himself to police because he did not think he would be treated fairly.

"He knew that he could not get a fair go here, " she said. "They don't like the white man here any more. They don't want the white man here any more."

Local television stations in Fiji captured Foster's arrest on camera. In the footage, Foster can be seen being carted off to hospital in a police truck, wearing only a pair of underpants.

Foster caused much embarrassment to Tony Blair in 2002 when the British prime minister's wife was forced to admit that she had bought two apartments in Brighton with Foster's help. Foster was, at the time, dating Cherie Blair's "lifestyle guru", Carole Caplin.

Foster has previously served jail terms in Britain, Australia and the US, mainly for fraud.

His latest venture involved attempts to construct a hotel in Fiji. While this scheme ran into planning difficulties, a rival developer got the go-ahead to construct a luxury resort nearby.

However, a number of websites claiming to represent the rival development began to advertise the hotel as a "heavenly haven for homosexuals", where boys could be bought "as young as you want". It is alleged that these sites were put on the web purposely to discredit the development in a country where homosexuality is illegal.

Foster disappeared shortly after police announced they wanted to speak with him in connection with the websites.