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David Cameron 'stepped in to save constituent from hunting conviction,' book claims

New biography of the PM describes him as an 'avid supporter of hunting'

Matt Dathan
Tuesday 22 September 2015 10:52 BST
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David Cameron: UN Security Council meeting at British behest
David Cameron: UN Security Council meeting at British behest

David Cameron stepped in to save a constituent from being prosecuted under the Hunting Act, according to a new book that claims he is an “avid supporter of hunting” and helps the controversial sport “behind the scenes”.

As Leader of the Opposition Mr Cameron intervened after a professional huntsman from his constituency in the Cotswolds was charged with various offences of hunting a fox.

He wrote a letter to the Attorney General on behalf of Julian Barnfield in June 2008, allegedly questioning whether prosecuting him was “really a productive use of police time?” The case was later dropped on a technicality.

It is an embarrassing allegation for the Prime Minister, who pledged to repeal the Hunting Ban at the 2015 election.

David Cameron pledged to repeal the hunting ban at the 2015 general election

During the election campaign he said people must have “the freedom to hunt”, insisting the Hunting Act has “done nothing for animal welfare”.

After winning a slender majority and with a raft of Tory MPs opposed to repealing the ban, Mr Cameron decided to pursue a relaxation of the ban rather than an outright repeal.

However the move was dropped after the 56 SNP MPs decided they would vote in the Commons motion, despite the change of rules only affecting English law.

The Government is hoping to return to the issue once it has passed English votes for English laws, which would weaken the ability of Scottish MPs from voting on legislation that does not affect their constituents.

The book, titled Call Me Dave and co-authored by the former deputy chairman of the Conservative party Lord Ashcroft, sheds light on Mr Cameron’s love of rural life and its traditions.

It claims he told a journalist that “he can scratch a pig’s back so effectively that the creature sighs,” while also boasting how he could “castrate a ram with a pair of pliers”.

His next-door neighbour in his Cotswolds home is Guy Avis, the honorary secretary of the Heythrop Hunt and the Daily Mail has printed a long sought-after picture of Mr Cameron attending a hunt in December 2004 – two months before the Hunting Ban came into force.

The Heythrop has been in a number of court cases relating to the Hunting Ban, including Mr Barnfield’s.

The fresh revelations come a day after exerpts from the book were published which claimed Mr Cameron put his genitals into a dead pig’s mouth during an initiation ceremony at an exclusive dining club at Oxford University.

However the Prime Minister has told friends that the story – allegedly told to the book’s authors by a “distinguished contemporary” of Mr Cameron’s at Oxford who went on to become an MP – was “utter nonsense” and said he had never been a member of the group in question – the Piers Gaveston Society.

Downing Street said it would not "dignify" the book by responding to any of the stories.

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