Police Looking Into Claims Labour Banned Fox Hunting After £1m Donation
21st July 2026
Scotland Yard is assessing claims that Labour banned fox hunting in return for a £1m donation from an animal rights group.
The Metropolitan Police is looking into new allegations that Lord Mandelson and another senior Labour figure suggested that the party introduced the ban in 2004 in return for the £1m donation from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Brian Basham, a former Labour fundraiser, said he had “known for many years” that Labour’s Hunting Act 2004 was “bought and paid for by a political donation” from IFAW in 1996.