Why has Tony Blair signalled he would not resist an injunction to delay the implementation of the law banning hunting with dogs?

Could it be that he knows how hypocritical and inconsistent policing the ban would appear alongside a Labour election manifesto that pushes for more tolerance, i.e. for religious minorities, and also seeks more support for rural businesses?

In nearly eight years of this Government, the only public inquiry not to deliver the conclusion they desired was the Burns inquiry into hunting. Firm evidence outweighed prejudice: the report did not conclude that hunting was cruel and should be banned.

After the final vote criminalising hunting with dogs, Labour MP Peter Bradley wrote: "It was class war the politics of power."

They are afraid that their anti-hunting allies, the animal rights lobby, will demand from them legal and moral consistency by banning shooting and fishing as well.

Many thousands, reported by the Gazette, attended Boxing Day hunt meets across Wiltshire. Let's see how many turn out on February 19.

Little wonder that Mr Blair may be keen to encourage an injunction before an election but not to save any foxes' skins.

R Paget

Little Bedwyn