Student arrested for possession of weapon at animal laboratory
The building site of the proposed animal facility was the scene of the arrest of an Oxford undergraduate in January.
AN OXFORD University undergraduate was arrested last month on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon after an incident at the university's new animal testing facility. The undergraduate, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was part of a group of people who were stopped by police outside the building site, where work on the new facility has been suspended.
The exact details of the incident cannot be revealed but a spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police confirmed that three men were arrested at the biomedical research centre on the South Parks Road on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. The arrests took place on the evening of Thursday 27th January. A student was questioned by police and held overnight but all three men were released on police bail pending further enquiries and must return to face further questioning tomorrow.
The suspects were stopped within approximately 15 minutes of entering the vicinity of the animal testing facility. The swift response to the incident has allayed fears that those opposed to the building of the facility could have taken advantage of the hiatus in building work to further disrupt the progress of the construction of the research centre. In November the university obtained a court injunction effectively banning protest outside the facility.
Security at the animal laboratory is provided by a combination of the University Security Services and Thames Valley Police. A University spokeswoman refused to comment directly on the incident but said: “We do not comment on anything which is under police investigation – it is up to Thames Valley Police to decide what details they release. “Security has been a very big issue for us. We have done our utmost to ensure the lab is as secure as possible.
“We have been working very closely with Thames Valley Police as the injunction against protestors is for the police to uphold, with our full cooperation.” The proposed £18 million South Parks Road facility has seen several high profile demonstrations resulting in an injunction being placed upon animal rights campaigners SPEAK and several individuals prominent in the campaign against the laboratory.
In July 2004, animal rights activists were blamed for intimidating a building firm into pulling out of a contract at the animal research centre. Executives at the Montpellier group withdrew after a police probe found letters claiming to be from group bosses urging shareholders to sell or face action from activists. The swift response to the most recent incident in January will be welcomed by insurers.
When contacted by The Oxford Student earlier this year, city insurers AXA and Zurich said that a private insurer was unlikely to step in unless “suitable provisions were made to minimise the risks to contractors.” On 3rd February this year, this newspaper revealed that the government would be prepared to underwrite the new facility and provide security at the site.
The government package is estimated to be £1 million which will be given in the form of legal advice, security and logistical support.
24th Feb 2005