Labour peer attacks hunt-ban plan


29 July 1999


Labour peer attacks hunt-ban plan


LABOUR peer and hunting enthusiast Baroness Mallalieu has attacked the governments plans to ban hunting.

She accuses the prime minister of failing to govern for the whole nation and letting down minorities in general and rural communities in particular.

She also insists that a hunting ban would never pass through the Lords, even when hereditary peers have been removed.

She also warns of widespread opposition among fellow Labour peers who are privately making it clear they will not support such a Bill.

Her attack appears in the magazine Country Life, although Conservative leader William Hague chooses Country Illustrated to attack the government on fox-hunting.

Tony Blairs proposed ban on hunting will galvanise support in the countryside against the government, he says.

The Herald reports that Scotlands Presiding Officer, Sir David Steel, had resigned as vice-president of the Countryside Alliance.

It reports that the move is seen as an attempt by Sir David to distance himself from the pro-foxhunting lobby.

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