Trio of animal rights activists to appear in court

1:54pm Tuesday 18th July 2006

An alleged animal rights protestor from New Addington has appeared in court in connection with a plot to cause financial ruin to a laboratory which carries out tests on animals.

Theresa Portwine, 46, of Dunley Drive, along with two people from West Yorkshire, is accused of staging 13 UK-wide demos at companies associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire.

The trio, believed to be members of campaign group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, were arrested after the group allegedly spent three months trying to stop firms doing business.

The prosecution follows an investigation by the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit and is brought under new legislation to tackle animal rights extremism.