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Prince Charles wrote a series of secret letters to Tony Blair over the fox hunting ban before it became law, it emerged yesterday (SUN).

The royal bloodsports enthusiast lobbied the then Prime Minister - and the Freedom of Information watchdog ordered the correspondence should be revealed.

However, the Government is stalling over releasing the files, the Mail on Sunday reported.

It requested “all correspondence and communications” exchanged by the Prince and Mr Blair which “in any way referred to hunting and or a ban on hunting and or the impact of hunting and the impact of a ban on the countryside”.

(Image: PA) (Image: Corbis News)

At first the Cabinet Office refused to say if it held any relevant information.

But Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham confirmed letters exist and ruled there was a “clear and compelling public interest” for them to be made public.

The correspondence “raises legitimate questions about the role of the heir to the throne in a parliamentary democracy and increasingly the role he may play when he succeeds to the throne”, she added.

Hunting with dogs has been banned in England and Wales since 2005.

David Cameron was forced to abandon a backdoor bid to reintroduce the hated bloodsport in 2015.

And Tory MPs believe Theresa May’s outspoken support for hunting and a secret plot to bring it back, revealed by the Mirror during the Tories’ disastrous election campaign, helped deny her a Commons majority last month.