Animal Rights Group Conducted "Paedophile" Smear Campaign, Court Hears

' rel="nofollow">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7659744.stm"] A man has told a court he was accused of being a paedophile by animal rights activists because of his company's links to an animal testing laboratory.

Vincent Howard of Biocair in Cambridge also said he was sent a hoax bomb.

Five defendants, from Hampshire, London and Newcastle, allegedly blackmailed firms connected to Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) in Cambridge.

The five, said to have been part of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), all deny conspiracy to blackmail.

Heather Nicholson, 41, of Eversley, Hampshire; Trevor Holmes, 51, of Newcastle; Gerrah Selby, 20, of Chiswick, London; Daniel Wadham, 21, of Bromley, south London and Gavin Medd-Hall, 45, of Croydon, south London, are accused of being closely involved in a campaign, from 2001 until 2007, which targeted companies in Britain and Europe.

Three other people, Gregg Avery and Natasha Avery, both of Hampshire, and Daniel Amos, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail, Winchester Crown Court court was told.

Paint stripper

Biocair and its employees were targeted in 2004, jurors were told on Wednesday.

SHAC, which was based at near Hook, Hampshire, demonstrated outside the company's offices as part of a worldwide campaign to target suppliers or any company with a secondary link with HLS, jurors heard.

Police bugged the headquarters of an animal rights group accused of using threats against suppliers of an animal testing laboratory, a court has heard.

Five defendants, from Hampshire, Newcastle and London, are accused of blackmailing firms with links to Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridge.

The five were allegedly part of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, which had its headquarters near Hook, Hampshire.

Winchester Crown Court heard audio from a meeting in 2007 had been recorded.

Heather Nicholson, 41, of Eversley, Hampshire, Trevor Holmes, 51, of Newcastle; Gerrah Selby, 20, of Chiswick, London; Daniel Wadham, 21, of Bromley, south London and Gavin Medd-Hall, 45, of Croydon, south London, are accused of being closely involved in a campaign from 2001 until 2007, which targeted companies in Britain and Europe.

All five deny conspiracy to blackmail.

Hoax bombs

Three others: Gregg Avery and Natasha Avery, both of Hampshire, and Daniel Amos, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail, the court was told.

Jurors heard the five defendants were a well-organised, worldwide organisation that supported intimidation.

The group apparently met every three months to discuss their campaign with regular updates from colleagues in the US and Europe.

The five are accused of blackmailing firms they suspected of having links to Huntingdon Life Sciences using threats, including hoax bombs, criminal damage, claiming managers were paedophiles, and threatening telephone calls.

Mr Michael Bowes QC, for the prosecution said their bugged conversations, deleted spreadsheets and emails showed SHAC supported "direct action" against people and firms with links to Huntingdon Life Sciences.

This action was illegal and could be traced to actual attacks on people across Britain, jurors heard.