MP James GrayAN undercover police operation to catch bird killers has sparked a political row after North Wiltshire MP James Gray branded it a waste of time.

Mr Gray has come under heavy fire after claiming police officers should be trying to trap burglars instead of rogue farmers.

A group of MPs led by former sports minister Tony Banks have accused the Tory of being ignorant.

And they have officially called on the Conservative Party to disown his comments.

In a Commons motion they said: "This House completely rejects the comments of the honourable Member for North Wiltshire that tackling wildlife crime is a waste of time and is appalled at the ignorance of his claim."

Their move came after the MP attacked Opera-tion Artemis, a massive covert attempt to catch farmers and gamekeepers in the north of England suspected of illegally killing hen harriers.

The protected birds there were thought to be only five breeding pairs in Britain last year eat young grouse, threatening the lucrative shooting industry on grouse moors.

But Mr Gray condemned it as a waste of money.

He said: "This is extremely silly because, with so few hen harriers in this country, the chances of catching anybody harming one is pretty remote.

"I would have thought the police had more important things to do than hanging around on grouse moors, such as catching burglars."

It is not the first time Tory James Gray and Labour's Tony Banks have clashed. They have fought a long and bloody political conflict over plans to ban hunting with dogs.

Mr Banks has called for a full ban and accused hunters of cruelty, while Mr Gray, himself a hunter, has battled to block it.