Eccentric John McCririck has thrown his weight behind Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock in a bid to get jockeys to scrap their horsewhips.

Mr McCririck, famed for his deerstalker hat, tweed jacket and bushy sideburns, has written to Mr Hancock offering his help.

The animal-loving MP tabled a question in the Commons, as reported in The News last week, and has now written to the British Horseracing Authority claiming that it has been 'extremely ineffective' in curbing excessive use of the whip.

Now Mr McCririck has waded into the debate, saying whipping is 'intolerable' and encouraging the Lib Dem MP to 'keep battling away'.

In a handwritten letter to Mr Hancock, he said: 'I, with others, have been campaigning for many years for the abolition of whipping horses.

'Using the whip in conjunction with the reins for steering purposes is perfectly acceptable. But beating animals in the name of sport is intolerable and turns so many people off racing.

'Horses are now the only living creatures that humans are allowed to hit, and so bad is the position that, to prove to connections and punters that they are trying, jockeys have to use their whip!'

He added: 'As non-whip races prove, racing would still go on – with horsemanship so important.

'And in fact more races are lost by use of the whip – watch head-on videos with horses flinching away from the whip – than by its use.

'If electrodes were put on horses' private parts they would go faster – so what?'

Mr Hancock, who was named most progressive politician last year for campaigning for animal rights, is now waiting for environment minister Hilary Benn to respond to his proposals.

He said: 'I'm delighted with Mr McCririck's support. I didn't know he had such strong views on it.

'I've had more letters and e-mails on this subject than anything else for a long time.'