DEFENCE Secretary Ben Wallace has been accused of throwing a “veil of secrecy” over potentially unlawful hunting activities on land owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). 

It comes after Mr Wallace revoked a memorandum of understanding between the MoD and animal rights charity the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS), which allowed the group to monitor hunts on the Salisbury Plain.

Explaining why the agreement had been terminated, Mr Wallace cited “security concerns as well the behaviour of protesters and their attire which is intimidating to other users” in a letter to the group earlier this month.

But LACS has said that it does not recognise Mr Wallace’s claims.

“We have always complied fully and diligently with the MoD and have received no prior communication of any apparent concerns from the MoD or Mr Wallace’s office,” said deputy chief executive Chris Luffingham.

“We have now written to Mr Wallace to seek clarification on the statements he has made in his letter and urge him to make activity taking place on publicly owned land more open to scrutiny, not less.”

The group also questioned the timing of the agreement’s cancellation, which comes in the run-up to Boxing Day, the biggest ceremonial hunting day in the calendar.

The MoD licences fox trail hunts to operate on its land. In such hunts, which remain legal, dogs and riders pursue an artificial trail.

However, animal welfare groups say that the practice is being used as a “smokescreen” for illegal fox hunting and have called for the law to be strengthened to ensure that “hunting is properly banned.”

An MoD spokesperson told ITV News: “We take our duty of care for all users of the defence estate seriously, to ensure that those who choose to frequent our land for recognised legal pursuits do not encounter intimidation or have their safety compromised.”