THOUSANDS of pro-hunting demonstrators will descend on Parliament today as MPs vote on a controversial Bill which could finally see fox-hunting and hare-coursing banned in England and Wales.

The Hunting Bill will be rushed through the House of Commons in a single day, and the Government has made clear that, if MPs vote for a ban, it will invoke the Parliament Act to quash expected resistance in the Lords.

Thousands of supporters of country sports were expected to gather outside Parliament for a noisy protest during the all-day debate.

Meanwhile, anti-hunting MPs were planning to table an amendment to bring forward the implementation of the ban and deny hunts another season's sport.

As things stand, a separate motion will enforce the ban two years from the date of Royal Assent in order to give rural communities time to adapt to the new legislation - meaning that the sport would become illegal in November 2006.

But staunch hunting opponents on Labour's backbenches have pointed out to ministers that this would still allow hunts their 2006 season.

"Win-win situation"

Some want the ban implemented immediately, raising the prospect of police breaking up illegal hunts at the time of next year's expected general election - something the Government wants to avoid at all costs.

To head off in-fighting, rural affairs minister Alun Michael could accept today that the ban starts from July 2006, preventing another year's hunting in autumn that year but keeping implementation safely after the last possible election date.

"It's a win-win situation," one Government source told PA News. "If the Lords object, the momentum for further reform will become unstoppable. If they allow the Bill and the timetable through, the will of the Commons will have prevailed."

Hunt supporters complained that they were being used as a "political football" by Prime Minister Tony Blair as they declared that they would launch a mass protest outside the Commons as MPs voted.

The Countryside Alliance, which is organising the demonstration in Parliament Square, accused Mr Blair of exploiting the hunting issue to placate some of his backbenchers.

Spokesman Darren Hughes said: "There are literally hundreds of buses coming from Wales, East Anglia, Scotland, the South West, the South of England - all over the UK.

"People are determined to come to Parliament Square to show those politicians who have ignored the evidence. They are fighting for their way of life."

Mr Hughes added: "A lot of people now think it is no longer about hunting. Tony Blair is using hunting to manage his backbenchers. Rural people are fed up with being used as a political football."

The Countryside Alliance said it was difficult to estimate exactly how many people would turn up but it would be in the thousands.

Mr Hughes admitted that, due to the short notice and the midweek timing, the numbers involved would be nowhere near the 400,000 figure the organisation estimated turned up for its march in London two years ago.

Leader of the Commons Peter Hain told MPs last week that he expects the Hunting Bill to go through all of its Commons stages in a single day, and then have its first reading in the House of Lords tomorrow.

Because the Bill is being re-introduced for the second time in its original form, if the Lords fail to pass it by the time the current parliamentary session ends next month, the Parliament Act will mean the will of the Commons prevails and the Bill will gain Royal Assent automatically.