MEMBERS of North Yorkshire hunts were today taking part in a national vigil in London in an attempt to stop a hunting ban.

Members of Sinnington and Derwent Hunts joined others from around the country in the vigil in Parliament Square which started yesterday and will finish at 10pm tonight.

MPs were due to debate a controversial new Bill today which allows fox hunting to continue under a strict regulatory regime.

The legislation would mean the banning of hare coursing and stag hunting and a large number of MPs want fox hunting outlawed too and have put forward an amendment to the Bill to that end. But Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett has appealed to anti-hunting MPs not to wreck the Bill, which she says is the only "workable" way to clamp down on animal cruelty.

"The Bill as it stands is acknowledged by animal welfare organisations to be the strongest ever put forward," she said. "No Bill on a simple ban has ever been thought to be workable."

She added: "MPs on a completely free vote, can choose between what is simple to explain and what is simple to enforce.

"If cruelty is the main concern, I plead with colleagues neither to wreck the Bill, nor delay its timing."

North Yorkshire hunt supporter Judith Smithers was today camped outside the

House of Commons to protest against the Government's controversial Hunting Bill.

Ms Smithers, from Elvington, braved pouring rain to sleep overnight in Parliament Square with a band of about 100 countryside campaigners.

She said: "I am here because I support hunting and I am determined to get

the message across to the Government that we will not accept this without a fight."

Ms Smithers, of the Hunsley Beacon Beagles, said she had not given up hope

of the Government's Bill collapsing.

If MPs amend the legislation to an outright ban, it may have to go back to

a Westminster committee.

Ms Smithers said: "There is a good chance it could still fail. If they run out of time in this session, hopefully the Government will give up and concentrate on something important - like schools and hospitals."

The Countryside Alliance has warned thousands of rural jobs will disappear if a ban on hunting comes into effect.

The pro-hunting lobby says the issue is one of civil liberties and claims Parliament is wasting valuable time trying to criminalise a minority sport.

There are thought to be almost 250,000 adult foxes in Britain. Each year about 425,000 cubs are born.

The National Anti-Hunt Campaign has claimed that up to 100,000 wild animals are chased, terrified and brutally killed each year in the name of "sport".

Mounted fox hunts kill some 15,000 foxes a year.

On July 8, 1999, on BBC's Question Time, Tony Blair promised to ban hunting before the next election.

Updated: 10:47 Monday, June 30, 2003