Fox Hunters Scare Brit Parliament

In the second major security breach in London this week, five fox hunting enthusiasts stormed onto the floor of the House of Commons Wednesday to disrupt a debate on banning the centuries-old sport.

Guards hustled the men away, but the incident showed - as did a man dressed as Batman who scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace on Monday - the vulnerability of Britain's seats of power. One lawmaker said there had not been such an intrusion in Parliament since 1642.

Security was stepped up immediately, with armed police guarding the chamber in place of the usual footmen and stewards.

Following the tense daylong debate, lawmakers voted 339 to 155 to ban fox hunting from July 2006. The Hunting Bill faces intense opposition in Parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords. But the ban appears inevitable as the government has promised to force through the legislation.

During Wednesday's debate, some 10,000 protesters massed outside Parliament, some clashing with police in riot gear.

The extraordinary scenes were a vivid demonstration of the passions aroused by hunting in Britain.

Officers drew batons and exchanged blows with some protesters, who had thrown wooden placards. Blood poured down the heads of some demonstrators, and red smoke wafted between rows of police vans after protesters hurled smoke bombs.

Security had appeared tight at Parliament on Wednesday, and members of the public were blocked from approaching Parliament's ornate gates.

Speaker of the House Michael Martin said eight demonstrators gained access to the building, using a forged letter inviting them to a meeting on the committee corridor.

Once inside, Martin said, they were helped by a security pass-holder who showed them the circuitous route to the chamber. It was not clear whether their accomplice was a journalist, a lawmaker or lawmaker's member of staff, he added.

Just outside the chamber, the men took off their jackets, revealing white T-shirts emblazoned with images of Prime Minister Tony Blair sprouting devil horns. Doorkeepers tackled three of the men, but were unable to stop five others bursting onto the debating floor.

"Clearly the intrusion was a carefully planned operation," Martin told lawmakers.

One protester made it to the central box where ministers and opposition leaders make statements, and shouted, "This isn't democracy. You are overturning democracy."

The prime minister was not in the chamber at the time and did not vote on the bill. His office said he was too busy.

Doorkeepers, dressed in traditional black outfits, wrestled the men to the ground and dragged them away. Police said the eight men were in custody. Britain's news agency Press Association, quoting an unidentified source, said one of the men was Otis Ferry, the son of rock star Bryan Ferry.

The British Broadcasting Corp. said one of its reporters had been tipped off about the protesters' plans on Tuesday. The broadcaster said the protesters had staged a dry run on Tuesday disguised as builders.

Shocked lawmakers demanded an immediate security review.

"Following Monday at Buckingham Palace and today at the House of Commons, serious questions need to be asked about how secure our major institutions are," said Conservative Party chairman Liam Fox.

Some noted that security was supposed to have been intensified since May 19, when two activists seeking improved child visitation rights for divorced fathers showered Blair and the chamber with purple powder.

"We were supposed to have a tightening up of security after the purple powder escapade," said Labour lawmaker John McWilliam. "Clearly it has not happened, especially on a day when the threat was materially higher."

The government's leader in the Commons, Peter Hain, said the incident could have been "deadly serious," adding, "Parliament simply must have modernized security procedures."

Labour lawmaker Stuart Bell said it had been the worst security breach since 1642, when King Charles attempted to arrest five members of the Commons.

"Not since Charles I came to this House has there been such an invasion," he said.

Irish terrorists struck at Parliament in 1979, killing Conservative lawmaker Airey Neave with a bomb planted beneath his car.

The Irish Republican Army tried to kill Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 by bombing a hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, and in 1991 IRA men lobbed mortar shells into the back yard of the prime minister's official residence as Prime Minister John Major chaired a Cabinet meeting.

Wednesday's scare came two days after

One of those men, Ron Davis, was convicted of disorderly behavior on Wednesday, placed on two years probation and ordered to pay 500 pounds (US$800, euro735) in fines.

Police said 11 people were arrested in clashes outside Parliament Wednesday, and a total of 19 people, including two police officers, suffered minor injuries.

By Ed Johnson