ENVIRONMENT Secretary Hilary Benn is to front a Labour party campaign to oppose the repeal of the Hunting Act.

He has launched an online campaign urging activists to "back the ban" on hunting with dogs.

It comes as the Conservatives made clear that, if they win the next election, government time will be made available to debate scrapping the ban.

In an e-mail to party members, Mr Benn said the ban on fox-hunting is "under threat". He urged Labour supporters to ensure that "as many people as possible know that a Conservative government would mean an end to the ban so many people worked so hard to introduce".

His intervention signals a step change in the Labour party's campaigning, having apparently taken the decision to allow grassroots movements such as the Fox in Parliament blog to lead the protest.

In his missive, Mr Benn sought to contrast Labour's focus on "tackling the recession and securing our economic recovery" with the Conservatives' priority to repeal the hunting act.

"Make no mistake – David Cameron and members of his top team have made it very clear that their intention is to see the return of the cruel spectacle of foxes being torn to pieces in Britain's countryside."

However, the message has not been universally welcomed by Labour members in the Westcountry. Some claimed it was a "disgrace" that the Government minister responsible for agriculture was seeking to become involved in such a contentious area for farmers.

Yet an Ipsos/Mori opinion poll for the League Against Cruel Sports last month showed just one in five people living in rural areas wanted to see the hunting ban reversed. Even among Tory voters, just a third back the move.

Nevertheless, last weekend Tory shadow environment secretary Nick Herbert pledged to overturn the hunting ban that has "divided the countryside". He moved to kill off speculation that the Tories were "watering down" their commitment.

Mr Herbert said the abolition of hunting was "the most symbolic act of Labour's arrogant disregard for rural communities" and has decided to bring forward government legislation to reverse it.

Last month the Western Morning News revealed that senior Conservatives were considering including the repeal of the Hunting Act in a major civil liberties Bill.

The party hopes that placing hunting alongside other contentious issues such as ID cards could avoid a repeat of the introduction of the ban, which took up 700 hours of parliamentary time and led to bloody demonstrations in Westminster.

It is hoped the plan would make hunting seem "less like a number one burning issue" for the Tories, who fear it will be exploited by opponents to suggest the party has not modernised.