THE Government was urged today to re-think its attitude to the countryside after rural North Yorkshire took its anger to the heart of the capital.

Ryedale MP John Greenway spoke out after joining 10,000 protesters from the county in yesterday's Countryside March in London.

A quarter of a million people took part in the demonstration, making it the biggest in Britain for more than a decade.

Now Prime Minister Tony Blair must consider his response, with the Government's first crucial test coming on Friday with the Third Reading of a Private Member's Bill to outlaw hunting.

If, as expected, it runs out of time, Ministers must decide whether to pave the way for a fresh bid to legislate.

The Prime Minister must also decide whether to plump for a complete shake-up of Government departments, replacing the Ministry of Agriculture and parts of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions with a new Department for Rural Affairs.

It was confirmed yesterday that the idea has been under consideration for several months - though sources stressed any change would not be a response to the protest march.

Tory John Greenway said today it was vital for the anti-hunting Bill to be defeated after so many marchers demonstrated their commitment to a centuries-old tradition.

"There has also got to be a significant shift in the Government's attitude to the farming community and agriculture," he said.

"And moves to impose more gun controls, in relation to shotguns, must be put on the backburner.''

But York MP Hugh Bayley said the anti-hunting Bill should still go through. "I have had hundreds of letters against hunting from my constituents and a handful in favour. Opinion polls also show a significant majority want to ban hunting and I believe a majority should get their way."

However, he believed the march had highlighted a number of important issues with which he had a lot of sympathy, including farming problems, building on the green belt and rural transport and schools issues, which the Government was addressing.

Opposition leader and MP for Richmond, William Hague, speaking to the Evening Press while taking part in the march, said: "I'm here because I agree with the people who are on the march about the way the government has let them down. And I'm pleased to see hundreds of Yorkshire people here. The message here today is listen to people in the countyside."

Special trains from York and Hull, along with 170 coaches, were organised to take Yorkshire's demonstrators to London.

Around 80 per cent of travel from Yorkshire to the march was organised by hunts, including both of the York and Ainsty hunts, Sinnington, Middleton and Bedale.

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