TOUGH-TALKING television actors and the Leader of the Opposition have joined forces to fight Waltham Forest Council over Haven House's eviction notice.

Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith, London's Burning Glenn Murphy and Ray Winstone, best known for his role in the hard-hitting film Nil by Mouth, took time out of their busy schedules to pledge support for the children's hospice.

Their actions come following the news that Haven House could be evicted from its Woodford Green premises for not paying the money needed to secure the lease.

As soon as Mr Duncan Smith, father-of-four and MP for Woodford Green, heard about Waltham Forest Council's refusal to allow a longer deadline for the children's charity, he informed the chief executive of his intentions to fight the decision.

A patron of Haven House, Mr Duncan Smith said: "The council's decision is more than heartless, it is stupid. It is despicable that people in authority are not able to give leeway to places like Haven House. I have written to the chief executive reminding him this hospice is a valuable resource.

"They are not being flexible and understanding. This facility is needed desperately. I will do everything possible to stop Waltham Forest from doing this."

Questioning the council's motives for calling in the debt, Mr Duncan Smith said: "The council is obviously looking for some sort of revenue but the area desperately needs this hospice.

"I will galvanise the councillors and we will fight this."

For Ray Winstone, famous for portraying hard-nut East End gangsters, his tactic for solving the problem was slightly different.

"I would like to knock their heads together," said the actor during a break from filming his new TV series, Tough Love.

"Those councillors should not be representing us because they don't think like us," he added.

"I don't think that any of those people making that decision are in the same situation as those families needing help.

"It makes me very angry. Let's see if those people have any soul and change their minds. I don't see why the council doesn't just give the house to them."

Showing exactly where his heart is, next on Mr Winstone's hit list was the National Lottery, which turned down the charity for funding in September.

The actor said: "The Lottery just gives out money for films that nobody watches. What's more important, making a film that I'm in or looking after sick children?"

Glenn Murphy, who has been involved in fundraising for Haven House from the beginning, had news of a potential £1million donation which would unfortunately come too late if Waltham Forest Council brought in the lawyers.

Taking a break from working on his new film, Shoreditch, where he plays a gangster, Mr Murphy told the Guardian that a leading charity has pledged to give £1million to Haven House next August.

But if the council goes ahead with its threatened action, the cash will mean nothing as the children's hospice would have been forced to close before it helped its first child.

The London's Burning star said: "This is an outrageous situation. If someone's a home owner, they take out a mortgage and pay in bits; why can't the council let the foundation pay over three years?

"It just seems to be picking on them or to have some hidden agenda. Haven House is a very special place. It's as if it's been touched by God.

"The council is being greedy. I would like to appeal to its compassion. The people making the decisions are just not being human."

By.Sara Dixon