WILLIAM Hague sparked fury last night with a thinly veiled attack on anti-foxhunting protesters.

However, the Tory leader said he would not repeal a ban on the controversial sport if it became law before he took office.

''We have a free vote on these things in our party,'' he told a rally by the Countryside Alliance in Bournemouth. ''I can't give assurances (on a repeal). I believe this has been and always should be a matter for private members' legislation. It's no good thinking these things can be easily changed.''

When asked directly by a delegate for his support for foxhunting, Mr Hague replied: ''There should be a respect for the habits of minorities. I'm genuinely worried about the impact on conservation and some of the crackpot schemes put forward by the Labour Government.''

Mr Hague condemned a ''metropolitan elite'' that viewed the countryside ''as one great theme park''.

Carefully avoiding any direct reference to foxhunting in his speech, Mr Hague spoke of a ''vindictive attack on country sports'' that threatened to destroy centuries of tradition, endanger thousands of jobs, and ''strike at bonds of community throughout rural Britain''. He added: ''The reality is that farming, the countryside and our entire rural way of life is under threat as never before. The future for the countryside is both bleak and uncertain.''

Labour MP and anti-foxhunting campaigner Mike Foster said last night: ''It's clear Mr Hague is desperate for votes and will say anything, even if it contradicts his own Shadow Home Secretary.''