PROTEST was very much in the air this week. First we had Batman scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace and then hunt supporters walking onto the floor of the House of Commons.

As a recent father myself, I have every sympathy with the campaign being run by Fathers 4 Justice.

I can't imagine anything more painful than being deprived of the daily pleasure of going home to my never less than entertaining two-year-old.

Monday's much-criticised stunt certainly achieved its aim, suddenly the media were talking about the legal system and the father's rights to see their children.

Some rather po-faced politicians suggested Jason Hatch should have been shot in the leg - clearly not those who had much idea about the use of firearms - but fortunately common sense prevailed.

Wednesday's protest both outside and, rather dramatically, inside the House of Commons also showed the lengths to which people will go when their rights are taken away by the law.

Putting the security concerns raised to one-side, personally I rather admired those hunt supporters who took their protest onto the floor of the House of Commons this week.

On Wednesday night the BBC's political editor Andrew Marr said events had shown that in the end power lay with the MP's in the House of Commons.

This may be the view of the political classes in London, but out here in the real world we know that ultimately power lies with ordinary people, it's just that most of the time they don't choose to exercise it.

Nick Howells