JOHN Prescott branded pro-hunt protesters a "braying mob" after demonstrators besieged Welsh secretary Peter Hain in his home. The deputy prime minister also attacked the "contorted faces" of prohunters, in a barnstorming speech to open the Labour Party conference. Mr Prescott's comments, which delighted the party faithful, came just a day after more than 100 people surrounded Mr Hain ' s cottage, near Neath. The Welsh secretary was barricaded inside for nine hours from 6am on Saturday. The aim was to prevent him from travelling to the Labour conference in Brighton. The demonstrators agreed to disperse only after Mr Hain sat down with a group of them at a picnic table in his driveway to discuss their grievances. Mr Hain said the protesters had cut off his water supply and frightened his wife. But he insisted the demonstration had not disrupted his schedule. Ahead of a Countryside Alliance demonstration expected in Brighton tomorrow, Mr Prescott said Labour was helping people with their problems "not like the braying mob expected outside". And, in sharp contrast to Tony Blair in recent days, he insisted the Government would press ahead with an outright ban on fox hunting. Mr Prescott said of the protesters: "Yes, they'll be here again. Well, at least it gives the foxes another day off. "It's this Labour government that's investing in rural communities and that's why we have more MPs in rural areas than all the Tories put together. "Don't forget it's this Government that introduced the right to roam - and we'll soon be giving it to the foxes." Mr Prescott said the protesters who filled Parliament Square two weeks ago had "contorted faces, and now threaten to break the law". He said: "Well I say, let's honour our manifesto promise. Let Parliament speak. Let democracy decide." Meanwhile, Mr Hain said his wife had been "quite worried" by the demonstration but insisted that he had given the protesters "food for thought". He said: "I think that the majority of Labour voters support a ban against hunting. I believe in the right to protest. Others may take their own view about invading a person's home and switching their water off." Peter Hain: 'I believe in the right to protest' | 
