FORGED letter allowed demonstrators to storm the Commons chamber and overshadow a vote that brought fox hunting to the brink of an outright ban, MPs were told last night. The five pro-hunt protestors, who threatened ministers at the despatch box in an unprecedented security breach, were led to the entrance of the chamber by a Commons passholder. But an investigation had not yet revealed who was responsible for helping the protesters, the Speaker Michael Martin told the Commons in an emergency statement. The sergeant-at-arms, who is in charge of security, was last night asked to explain how the demonstrators were able to slip past his attendants and reach the Commons floor. Sir Michael Cummins was widely expected to offer his resignation, amid claims that no members of the public had managed to invade the chamber itself for 350 years, since the time of King Charles I. Meanwhile, there were violent clashes outside parliament where an estimated 10,000 pro-hunters gathered, waving placards and banners demanding "No Ban". Smoke bombs were thrown at the police, who responded by striking demonstrators with batons. Nineteen people were believed to have been injured, including two police officers. Asked about the allegations that police had been "heavy handed", a spokesman said: "They are made at every demonstration we police. We try to police demonstrations to the best of our ability to keep them peaceful and protect the people involved." Several dozen demonstrators later began a sit-down protest in the middle of Parliament Square. The scenes in the chamber - which forced the sitting to be abandoned for 25 minutes - distracted attention from MPs voting, by a majority of 190, to outlaw fox hunting and hare coursing. | 
