Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, will lead a debate in Parliament today, calling on the government to ban the fur trade.

Mr Zeichner said: “I have long been a champion of animal rights. Labour banned fur farming in the UK when we were in government, and it is now high time to ban fur imports into the country. Nearly 70% of the public across the country would support a ban; I want the government to listen to the people and put animal welfare and the environment first through banning fur.”

The debate has been granted in response to a petition, calling on the government to ban the sale of fur, which gained over 100,000 signatures. The Fur Free Britain campaign now has almost half a million signatures, and is supported by cosmetics retailer Lush, and celebrities such as Queen’s Brian May.

The government’s response to the petition stated that “While some fur products may never be legally imported into the UK the Government’s view is that national bans are less effective than working at an international level on animal welfare standard”.

Mr Zeichner will comment: “This government response sounds laudable, but it is in fact assuming a false dichotomy – a national ban would not stop our government from continuing to work on international animal welfare, and it would give our country a firm platform from which to work with others.”