Supporter: IDS

Iain Duncan Smith has signalled he will support pro-hunt campaigners by joining them in a mass protest next month.

The Conservative leader will sign up to take part in the countryside march through London during a visit to the Bucks County Show on Thursday.

He will take his family with him - a move which is likely to spark anger from Labour MPs after his criticism of the prime minister for using his own children for publicity.

Duncan Smith said hunting was an issue of personal liberty.

"This is all about freedom," he told The Times.

"Hunting is not an oppressive pastime. This is just a class war and it is about people on horses in red coats."

The Conservative leader claim there was a strong body of people living in the countryside who saw hunting as a part of rural life.

"I think people in the countryside - even those who do not hunt, and that is the majority - support the right of people to do so," he said.

"They see this onslaught on hunting as part of the fabric of what makes a rural person."

Organisers of the march, the Countryside Alliance, gave a cautious welcome to his support.

"It's very much a private matter for him and his family though we are delighted and welcome anyone who care about the countryside," said a spokesman.