The government has been warned that it faces a series of mass protests over the summer over its plans to ban or curtail fox hunting.

Chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, Richard Burge, has told his members that rural affairs ministers and selected MPs would be subject to consistent law-abiding protests at official engagements, as part of a sustained campaign by rural people.

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

A spokesman for the Countryside Alliance told ePolitix.com: "There is a clear attempt to use hunting as a sacrificial lamb on the altar of political convenience. Quite simply, we will not allow anyone to get away with it.

"We ask for nothing more than justice, fairness, and our consent. The government and MPs have failed to heed that request. We will demand it through protest. They must now live up to their obligations to defend the liberty and livelihood of all. Our demand is modest but if it falls on deaf ears, our rage will be felt.

"The sole object of this exercise is to secure a legitimate and viable future for hunting as part and parcel of our living countryside. No other outcome is acceptable, we will not rest until it is achieved, and we will do whatever it takes to secure that legitimacy and to win overwhelming public support for the ordinary, decent, and responsible people of the countryside."