As hundreds of pro-hunting protesters gathered and chanted outside Parliament, Home Office minister George Howarth came under vigorous attack.

George Howarth: Promises a statement on the government's plans soon

He told MPs the government would make a statement on its plans for banning fox hunting soon, giving details on how it will bring forward the promised legislation.

But while few new details emerged during Home Office questions, the House of Commons saw a return of the clashes over last year's private member's bill on the issue - and a foretaste of the battle to come.

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A succession of Tories attacked the plans for a fox hunting ban, which were revealed unexpectedly by Prime Minister Tony Blair during a special edition of the BBC's Question Time last week.

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Tom King said: "This government will long be remembered as the government who released convicted killers but threatened with imprisonment those who seek to continue a traditional country sport."

Mr Howarth replied: "The honourable gentleman doesn't help his own cause by using arguments that simply don't stand up to scrutiny."

When the argument was again employed from the Tory benches, he added: "I do hope that those who want to express those strong views will do so in a non-violent and civilised way."

Donations controversy raised

Tory MPs also asked if the decision to bring forward a ban on fox hunting was linked to a £1m donation to the Labour Party by the Political Animal Lobby.

George Howarth: "I don't think there's any connection between the two events"

But Mr Howarth countered this charge, by pointing out the same group had donated money to both the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats before the 1997 general election.

According to a leaked memo by Home Office minister George Howarth published in The Daily Telegraph, the PAL's sister organisation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, threatened to attack the government publicly unless progress was made towards a hunt ban.

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Speaking earlier to the BBC, Mr Howarth dismissed any suggestion of a link between the money and the decision to go ahead with the ban.

"We certainly had meetings with IFAW, but that wasn't the only group we've had meetings with and I'm certainly not prepared to comment on any internal document that may or may not have been leaked," Mr Howarth told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I don't think there's any connection between the two events. They donated to us for whatever reason in the belief that we would be a better government for animals in general than the previous government, not based on the fact that they could bribe us to do so, as some people may be suggesting."

But Tory chairman Michael Ancram said the donation showed, "New Labour can be well and truly bought."

"It shows that the government has learned nothing from the Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone affair," he said.

Route to ban undecided

Mr Howarth said the government had considered how best to move forward with a ban since a private member's bill failed to pass through Parliament last year, despite overwhelming support from MPs.

"On balance we decided that to move forward with this agenda of banning hunting with dogs was a good political move and was a good move in principle.

"We've been listening to all the arguments, we've now arrived at a conclusion."

The minister refused to state if the government's plans would become clear before MPs left Westminster for their summer recess.

He equally said it remained undecided as to how the government would choose to bring forward its ban.

While it might decide to introduce its own bill on the issue, or add an amendment on a bill on a related topic, it could still return again as a private member's bill.