Queen 'not amused' by ban
2004-09-19 09:38
London - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is not amused by an impending ban on fox hunting in England and Wales, and she has said so to Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
She disclosed her concerns during a private conversation in Exeter, southwest England, with John Daw, a former chairman of the Devon branch of the National Farmers' Union, it said.
It quoted Daw - well-known for his passion for the countryside - as telling the monarch that Blair and his government did not understand rural Britain.
According to Daw, the newspaper said, Queen Elizabeth - who holds regular private meetings with the prime minister - replied: "I know. I tell him that every week when I see him."
The House of Commons overwhelming adopted legislation Wednesday to ban fox hunting in England and Wales from July 2006. It is already outlawed in Scotland.
It did so as police clashed with thousands of hunt supporters outside parliament in London, and as five pro-hunt protesters burst onto the floor of the Commons after breezing past security guards.
Some of the protesters have been described in the press as close friends of Prince Charles and his two sons Prince William and Prince Harry, all of whom are known to list hunting among their pastimes.
The Sunday Telegraph said the exchange between Queen Elizabeth and Daw took place in May 2002 at County Hall in Exeter, and that "those close to the queen believe that her fears have deepened since then".
Charles advised not to take part
Buckingham Palace's website confirmed that the queen was in Exeter on May 1 2002 as part of her golden jubilee tour to mark 50 years on the throne, and that it included a reception at County Hall.
The palace never comments on the queen's private conversations.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper meanwhile reported that the queen has advised Charles not to participate in fox hunts when a new hunting season begins in November.
It said she fears that the issue has become so politically sensitive that it would trigger a feud with the government, and that Charles might also emerge as a figurehead of the anti-ban movement.
The Mail on Sunday also published an opinion poll indicating that 52 percent of 1,748 respondents, contacted Friday and Saturday, were in favour of the government using special legislation to overrule any bid by the House of Lords to block a fox hunting ban.
Under Britain's system of constitutional monarchy, the queen meets regularly with Blair, as she has with all previous prime ministers, but only in a consultative role. Their next meeting is on October 13.
- AFP