Countryside Alliance Challenge to the Hunting Act, 2004
Some enquirers to Defra appear to be uncertain about inferences made in media commentary before Christmas. For the avoidance of doubt, the Government is vigorously contesting the Countryside Alliance's challenge to the application of the Parliament Acts to the Hunting Act 2004. As has been made clear by the Chairman of the Countryside Alliance, lawyers from the two sides have had discussions as is usual before court hearings. The Alliance has stated that it will appeal if it loses its challenge and in that event it intends to ask for an injunction to delay commencement of the Act until the Appeal has been heard. The Government is relaxed about this application, as Alun Michael made clear on the "Today" programme on 23 December:-
James Naughtie: … and we’re joined by the Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael. Can you confirm Mr Michael what Mr Jackson has just told us, that it has been made clear that the Attorney General would let the legal process take its course without moving to implement the Act in February?
Alun Michael: Jim, what we’re hearing is a great deal of exaggeration and spin here. Can I make three factual points? Firstly, it’s for the court to decide whether to accept the terms of an injunction. We’ve known that there would be an injunction for a long time. We can either argue vigorously against it or we can wait to see what the court decides. We’re content to wait and see.
The second point is the commencement date, 18th of February, is not what the House of Commons voted for. It was pro hunt peers who voted down the later date offered by MPs by choosing what the media call the kamikaze option.
And thirdly, we are absolutely confident that the legal challenge to the Hunting Act will fail. But now that Parliament has passed the Act, it’s now law, it’s now on the Statute Book, the right place for it to be challenged, and the Alliance has the right to do this, is in the court and not through intimidation and violence. We don’t expect either the challenge of the Parliament Act nor the Human Rights challenge to succeed.
So, it’s not a question, as you put it, of a secret deal. John Jackson himself said lawyers always talk in advance of a court hearing, they’ve done it in this case, and what you simply see here is the Government being reasonable, as we have been all along, despite the fact that this is probably the most contentious issue, although not necessarily the most important, that we’ve seen in the debate in politics.
Extract from The Today Programme, Radio 4, Thursday 23rd December 2004, 07.09 am
Page last modified:
19 May, 2005
Page published: 11 January, 2005