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MPs urge Blair to scrap hunt ban plans
Sep 7 2004
By Jonathan Walker
Tony Blair has been urged to scrap plans for a ban on hunting in a last-minute plea from a Midland MP and peer.
The Prime Minister was told that an outright ban would increase animal suffering, in a letter from MP Peter Luff (Con Mid Worcestershire) and Baroness Golding, former Labour MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire.
It follows reports that the Government plans to force through a ban on hunting within two weeks, in response to pressure from backbenchers.
Peter Hain, the Leader of the Commons, is expected to begin the legislative process on Thursday with a statement to the House.
More than 270 backbenchers, mainly Labour MPs, have signed a Commons motion calling on the Government to use the Parliament Act to over-ride Lords' opposition.
Ending fox hunting would rally support for Mr Blair ahead of a General Election. Some reports have also claimed the Prime Minister faced a mutiny from cabinet colleagues including Mr Hain, unless a ban was introduced.
But it could also take up Parliamentary time and prevent other Bills being passed. The Children's Bill, which will make it an offence for parents to smack their children in certain circumstances, is one of the most likely to fall.
Mr Luff and Baroness Golding, along with Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik (Montgomeryshire), are joint chairmen of the All Party Parliamentary Middle Way Group, which argues hunting should be restricted but not banned.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, they said a ban would not save the life of a single fox. Instead, it would increase the animals' suffering as they were killed in other ways.
Mr Luff said: "Banning hunting will be bad for animal welfare - bad for the fox population and bad for the horses and hounds that will be destroyed - and so it fails the first and most important test."
But MP Mike Foster (Lab Worcester), who introduced his own backbench Bill in a bid to ban hunting in 1997, said: "I sincerely hope the rumours that we are finally going to get a ban are true."
