Ann Widdecombe joins battle to block badger cull

She has so far escaped the cull of celebrity dancers and now Ann Widdecombe is backing calls to save badgers from a similar fate.

The ex-Tory minister turned Strictly Come Dancing contestant has lent her support to campaigners calling for an end to the practice of killing the animals in an effort to prevent TB in cattle.

Under government proposals, farmers will be issued licences to cull badgers in TB hotspots to combat the disease.

The previous government ruled a cull was not supported by science, and moves to bring in a programme of culling in Wales were recently quashed by the Court of Appeal. Public consultations are due to end next month.

Ms Widdecombe - who was one of only a few Tory MPs to support a ban on fox hunting - added her support to the campaign by animal rights group Viva to force a halt to the cull.

It hopes her support will attract more people to sign petitions and join peaceful demonstrations today in what it is calling a National Day of Action for Badgers.

"There is a strong body of opinion that wholesale culling is not the answer. I wish this project every success in highlighting alternatives," she said.

Viva campaigns manager Justin Kerswell said: "There is growing anger in the public that British badgers are being made a scapegoat."