Fri, Sep 17, 2004 page6

• Fox hunting ban passed amid violent clashes

  PROTESTS Supporters of fox hunting fought with police as five protesters evaded security and stormed the British House of Commons, halting debate on the issue

  • AFP
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  Supporters of fox hunting stormed Britain's parliament Wednesday and clashed with police in the streets, but failed to stop lawmakers from voting by an overwhelming margin to ban the blood sport.

  Debate was suspended for 30 minutes after five pro-hunt protesters, in the first incident of its kind in modern times, burst into the House of Commons chamber -- the second dramatic security breach in London in three days.

  "Clearly the intrusion was a carefully planned operation," said Commons speaker Michael Martin, adding that parliament was asking police to carry out a full investigation.

  The five, wearing T-shirts depicting Prime Minister Tony Blair with devil's horns, were arrested -- while outside, riot police with batons and tear gas kept back 10,000 furious pro-hunt demonstrators hurling bottles and fireworks.

  At least 19 people were injured in the melee, including a police officer, while a total of seven people were arrested, the Metropolitan Police said.

  In a late-night statement, police said the five intruders, plus three others who failed to enter the Commons chamber, all aged 21 to 42, had been charged with violent disorder, burglary with intent to commit criminal damage, and "suspicion of uttering a forged instrument."

  Despite the protests and after an afternoon of debate, MPs voted 356 to 166 in favor of legislation to ban fox hunting with dogs in England and Wales. The blood sport has been banned in Scotland since 2002.

  They then went on to vote 342-15 for the ban to take effect in July 2006, enabling countryside dwellers whose livelihoods depend on fox hunting to find other means to make a living.

  The legislation goes Thursday to the House of Lords, which has stalled previous attempts at banning fox hunting.

  This time around, however, Blair's government has pledged to use special laws to overrule the unelected upper house to put the ban in place after years of controversy. But Wednesday was certain to be remembered as the first time that "strangers," to use a quaint parliamentary phrase, have invaded the Commons floor in modern times, and possibly since Charles I invaded parliament in 1642.

  It occurred four months after Blair was hit by a condom full of purple-colored flour thrown from the public gallery, and two days after a protester dressed as Batman climbed onto a ledge at the front of Buckingham Palace, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II.

  Both stunts were the work of a fathers' rights group, but observers inevitably wondered what could have happened if hardened terrorists had been the perpetrators.

  One of the five protesters was Otis Ferry, 21, Britain's youngest hunt master, news media reported. Ferry is the son of rock crooner Bryan Ferry, of the 1970s band Roxy Music.

  Another, Luke Tomlinson, 27, is an Eton-educated top polo player and long-standing friend of Prince William and Prince Harry, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.

  Martin, the Commons speaker, said a total of eight men gained access from parliament's main public entrance, St Stephen's Gate, using a forged letter inviting them to a meeting in a committee corridor.

  Once inside, they were led to a stairway, "probably" by someone with a parliamentary pass, whipped off their jackets, then rushed doorkeepers who managed to stop only three of them.

  Blair was not in the Commons at the time, nor did he vote on the ban.

  Banning fox hunting has been simmering since the Labour Party took power in 1997, and came to a boil in September last year when more than 400,000 hunt supporters bore down on London for an unprecedented march.

  Supporters insist the practice is an inalienable right in rural Britain, unappreciated by city dwellers, and a rural tradition which helps control countryside pests and provides thousands of jobs.

  Opponents say it is both elitist and barbaric, with a pack of dogs tracking a live animal and then tearing it apart. Opinion polls suggest that a majority of Britons favor a ban.

  The Commons has overwhelmingly adopted legislation to ban fox hunting before, most recently in June 2003, only to see it blocked in the Lords, which has deep roots in the land-owning aristocracy.
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