We got away with it, say hunt leaders PRO hunt extremists at work.

Ludwig Feuerbach

From:	Ludwig Feuerbach
Subject:	We got away with it, say hunt leaders PRO hunt extremists at work.
Date:	Wed, 08 Dec 2004 17:34:15 +0000

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,6903,1312958,00.html

We got away with it, say hunt leaders

Leaked memo welcomes publicity from 'epic' demonstration

Antony Barnett and Mark Townsend
Sunday September 26, 2004
The Observer

The leaders of Britain's fox hunts have boasted that they 'got away
with it' after the demonstration outside parliament which ended in
violent clashes with the police, a leaked memo reveals.
Despite publicly condemning the ugly scenes, a confidential memo sent
from Stephen Lambert, chairman of the Council for Hunting Associations
(CHA), reveals senior figures in the hunting world gloried in the
publicity surrounding the 15 September protests. They described the
storming of the Commons as an 'epic'.

Details of the letter sent out on Monday - and leaked to The Observer
- have emerged as pro-hunt supporters launch a campaign of
intimidation against Labour politicians. Yesterday more than 100
protesters barricaded Welsh secretary Peter Hain in his South Wales
home to prevent him attending this week's Labour Party conference in
Brighton. Hunt supporters began the siege at dawn yesterday and
promised to remain outside the minister's country home 'for as long as
it takes'.

Hunt leaders are increasingly concerned that they are losing control
over the extreme elements of the hunting community.

The memo from the CHA - a body linked to the Countryside Alliance -
suggests further disturbances are inevitable. The violent
demonstrations in Parliament Square led to several arrests and dozens
of injuries. Pro-hunting demonstrators blamed the police for excessive
use of force.

In the document, Lambert said: 'We probably got away with it this time
- but further confrontation with the police will inevitably result in
the loss of public sympathy and media support.'

Douglas Batchelor, chief execu tive of the League Against Cruel
Sports, condemned the memo, claiming it showed that hunt leaders know
who the trouble-makers are.

He said: 'This document appears to show the Countryside Alliance has
some control over its hotheads, whose actions they refuse to
repudiate. They are determined to overturn the democratic decision to
ban hunting with dogs.'

The council refers to secret plans for its demonstration at the Labour
party conference. 'You will be briefed shortly about Brighton. The
southern hunts will be called on for duty, but all other hunts are
welcome.'

Already the Real Countryside Alliance, the most hardline of the
pro-hunting factions, has revealed that hundreds of supporters will
attempt to form a human barrier around the conference to prevent MPs
attending key speeches.

Elsewhere, the memo goes on to outline the hunting community's attempt
to sabotage the government's proposals to ban hunting.

It reveals the Countryside Alliance has obtained 'expert legal advice'
and has already prepared a legal challenge to the use of the
Parliament Act to overrule the House of Lords. It will be 'actioned at
the appropriate moment', the memo states and refers to an 'A-Z
guideline' it will publish on both 'legal and illegal hunting'.

Despite the self-congratulatory nature of the memo, it does show the
desire of the hunt leaders to rein in the actions of some of the more
extreme supporters. Lambert also urges all senior figures in the
hunting community to 'concentrate on the prejudice line' when speaking
to the media, because he claims it is 'hitting the media and public
conscience'.

The memo concludes: 'There is a central strategy in place and it is
being rolled out. You will be briefed as appropriate but please ensure
that everyone remains disciplined. Our future depends on it.'