Animal rights hunger striker Barry Horne should foot the bill for his hospital care, Ryedale MP and Tory Home Affairs spokesman John Greenway said today.

Mr Greenway has called for the bill to be met by Mr Horne or his supporters rather than being met from the public purse.

And he called on Horne's supporters to end their vigil outside York District Hospital and allow the opening of the York cancer haven to go ahead as planned.

The Evening Press revealed yesterday that the York Health Trust planned to send the bill for added costs of caring for Horne, estimated at about £5,000 so far, to the Home Office.

But Mr Greenway said while the hospital must be reimbursed he did not think the Home Office should meet the costs. "He is perfectly free to choose over this but why should the rest of society have to pay for it?

"Of course he should be treated, but there are people on waiting lists and people who can't get the operation they want and here we are with a quite deliberate self-imposed thing. I do feel they should be asked to foot the bill."

He added Horne's supporters should call off their vigil, which led to the postponement of the cancer haven opening scheduled for Saturday. "A lot of people in York will be deeply angry about that," said Mr Greenway.

Paul Thompson, of the Animals Betrayed Coalition, dismissed Mr Greenway's comments, saying: "He is probably being deliberately provocative."

He added smokers could be said to have self-inflicted injuries, adding the cost of keeping Horne in hospital was probably less than keeping him in prison.

York Labour MP Hugh Bayley also disagreed with Mr Greenway, saying: "Ignoring the fact that Horne does not have an income in prison and no humane government could just let him die, if you start charging people for self-inflicted harm, does that mean you should start charging for smokers and people who suffer sports injuries?"

Mr Bayley also called for an end to the action, saying the Government could not respond to any of the points Horne was making while he was on hunger strike because it would encourage others to take action which endangered themselves or others.

Horne was said by a Prison Service spokesman to be in a serious but stable condition on the 64th day of his hunger strike. He is serving an 18-year sentence for fire bombing properties.

Meanwhile, it was revealed today that Mr Horne is to stay at York District Hospital for the foreseeable future and will not be moved for security reasons.

A Prison Service Spokesperson said "Barry Horne will not be moved from the hospital except for clinical reasons."

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