Unaccustomed as I am to speaking in the Chamber, as I come from the Whips' Office, I wish to present a petition to the House ahead of tomorrow's debate on whether to ban fox hunting. The petition states:

We the undersigned being constituents of Nottingham North commend the new Labour Government in allowing a free vote in Parliament on whether hunting with hounds should be banned by legislation. We therefore call upon our local Labour Member of Parliament, Graham Allen, to vote in favour of banning hunting with hounds—

We are totally opposed to this barbaric sport and demand greater protection for all defenceless wildlife. We believe that Parliament should support Michael Foster MP's Bill to ban hunting with hounds and respectfully request that the House of Commons should take this opportunity to outlaw this horrific sport.