Huge election majority guarantees hunting ban

A ban on fox hunting was in prospect last night after Labour MPs were reassured by Robin Cook that the Government would include a Bill in next week's Queen's Speech.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has privately told anti-hunting groups that "the middle way is dead" and that Labour's huge parliamentary majority will guarantee a push towards an outright ban on hunting with hounds.

Leaders of animal welfare organisations, including the powerful International Fund for Animal Welfare, met ministers and Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff, shortly before the general election and received reassurances about a ban, The Independent has learnt.

Mr Powell assured them that the Government would not back the compromise "middle way" option and would proceed with the Bill banning hunting with dogs if Labour gained a landslide.

"Jonathan Powell said the middle way is dead. He said if there is a big majority and no backlash from the countryside there would be a ban. We have been told the Bill will be tabled early in the Parliament," said an animal welfare source.

At yesterday's meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party ­ the first since the general election ­ Robin Cook, the new Leader of the House, told MPs of the Government's intention to bring forward a Bill early in the lifetime of the Parliament.

This is the strongest indication yet that the Government is keeping the option of using the Parliament Act to overrule a vote against a ban in the House of Lords.

To use the procedural tool, which allows the House of Commons to prevail when the Lords blocks contentious legislation, the Bill must have been debated in two consecutive sessions of Parliament, which means it must be debated in this session.

"We are very optimistic that this is included in the Queen's Speech," said Tony Banks, the Labour MP for West Ham, who has led the backbench campaign for a ban. "In the general election the people have spoken and the answer is that we must ban hunting. The middle way is not an option."

Kate Hoey, the middle way's chief backer within government, was replaced as Sports minister by Richard Caborn last week.

In the last Parliament, the fox-hunting Bill did not complete its passage through Parliament, despite being given government time. But in this Parliament Tony Blair is expected to introduce the same Bill and allow MPs to have a free vote after being advised that he will face a revolt by his own backbenchers unless early action is taken.

About 160 Labour MPs signed a pledge to work to ban hunting before the general election, and animal welfare groups decided not to attack the Government during the campaign on the expectation of Labour bringing in a ban.

The only sticking point for the Government was a fear that pro-hunting groups could mobilise during the election.

Jonathan Powell is said to have told animal-welfare groups that a condition of proceeding with a ban was for no backlash by countryside groups to occur in the general election.

Downing Street told animal-welfare groups it was concerned that hunting could become an election issue and that anti-hunting MPs, who were the target of countryside campaigners, could lose their seats or have their majorities reduced. But of the 29 rural Labour-held marginals that were the target of countryside campaigners, 18 saw a swing from Conservative to Labour candidates. Labour MPs who led calls for a ban, including Peter Bradley, chairman of the rural group of Labour MPs, had a swing from the Tories.