Downing Street denies hunting deal

The Times suggested hare coursing would be banned

The government has denied it is working on a compromise deal to allow fox hunting to continue.

Downing Street dismissed a report that hare coursing would be banned but fox hunting allowed to continue as "speculation".

A spokesman said no decision would be taken before next week's vote on hunting in Parliament.

The Times said prime minister Tony Blair was set to back the plans by suggesting that hunting is as crucial to the countryside as pest control.

MPs vote on fox hunting on Monday

The newspaper said hunts would be licensed for three years and a statutory authority, with the power to award and remove licences, set up to oversee them.

The BBC's political correspondent Guto Harri says a prominent figure in previous attempts to find a compromise was sceptical, telling BBC News that the report was "too good to be true".

Michael Foster, who promoted a private member's bill to outlaw hunting with hounds during the previous Parliament, also expressed surprise at the report.

Middle way

He said an inquiry by former civil service head of the Treasury Lord Burns had established both were equally cruel.

Monday's Commons vote gives MPs three choices - banning hunting altogether, allowing it to continue unchanged, and a third "middle way" that would allow it to continue under licence.

MPs are likely to vote for an outright ban.

The Bill moves to the Lords on Tuesday.

During the previous Parliament, peers voted to maintain the status quo.