‘Publish Prince’s hunting pleas to Blair’

THE Government could be forced to publish a series of secret letters that reveal the Prince of Wales urged Tony Blair not to ban foxhunting.

The Freedom of Information watchdog confirmed the existence of the letters and ordered that they be made public after a 27-month challenge from the Mail on Sunday. Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner, ruled that there was a “clear and compelling public interest” for them to be made available.

The Cabinet Office is resisting their release because it believes that communications between the future king and ministers should remain private, as they were written with that understanding. The heir to the throne is understood to have opposed the ban at the time of the correspondence with Mr Blair in 2002, the same year the Labour prime minister confirmed there would be a vote on the issue.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said it was “considering the decision of the Information Commissioner’s office and will respond in due course”.