Posted on 09/15/2004 10:25:02 AM PDT by tjwmason
MPs have voted in favour of a Bill to ban hunting with dogs following a debate that was briefly suspended when five pro-hunting protesters broke into the House of Commons.
The Bill was backed by a vote of 356 to 166 after a tense afternoon when riot police were brought in to Parliament Square to control pro-hunting protesters.
Four of the protesters reached the floor of the House from behind the Speaker's chair before one of the men confronted Alun Michael, the rural affairs minister.
He shouted: "This isn't democracy. You are overturning democracy."
Another man burst into the chamber through its main entrance, but reports said staff were able to stop a further five protesters reaching the debate.
The men were wrestled to the floor by Commons staff before they were removed from the chamber to allow the debate to continue after an interruption of around 20 minutes.
The major breach of security at Westminster came two days after a fathers' rights campaigner dressed as Batman managed to climb up Buckingham Palace.
A previous stunt by Fathers 4 Justice in May saw two protesters throwing a flour bomb at Tony Blair during Prime Minister's questions.
One of the men, Ron Davis, 48, was given a two-year conditional discharge this afternoon after being convicted of disorderly behaviour.
News of the suspension of the hunting debate was greeted with cheers when it was relayed to thousands of pro-hunting supporters who have gathered outside Parliament for an all-day protest.
Sylvia Heal, the Commons Deputy Speaker, described the invasion as a "very serious incident".
She said an investigation into how the protesters reached the chamber had been started by police and the Serjeant at Arms.
The Commons invasion came less than an hour after violent clashes broke out between some protesters and police holding the crowd back.
Scotland Yard said its officers had come under fire from missiles from a small section of the crowd who tried to break through a cordon in the south-west corner of Parliament Square.
But some protesters said they the victims of an unprovoked attack by police.
Simon Kenney, a professional huntman from Durham, said: "I was up at the front trying to make my point to a policeman, then he just hit me with his baton. The police did not give any warning."
The violence marred an otherwise peaceful protest as between 8,000 and 10,000 demonstrators gathered for the rally.
As it got under way, campaign leaders pledged to launch a high-level legal challenge to a ban, which Mr Michael has propsed to delay until July 2006 if it is supported by Parliament.
The Bill will be rushed through the Commons today and the Government has made clear that if MPs vote for the ban, it will invoke the Parliament Act to quash expected resistance in the Lords.
Anti-hunting MPs are planning to table an amendment to bring forward the implementation of the ban and deny hunts another season's sport.
The margin of the vote is overwhelming. It is sad that the animal rights whackos have so much clout in what is left of England. What is a hound to do???
Democracy without respect for civil rights and private property is two wolves and a sheep voting on what is for lunch...
England without fox hunting. This is indeed a sad day. England is dead.
This is not the end. "Britons never never never will be slaves." Civil disobedience will continue, and foxhunting will continue in the guise of drag-hunting. How could any English bobby tell the difference between a live and drag hunt?
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