Animal rights arsonist is jailed

By Helen McCormack

Friday 08 December 2006

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An animal liberation campaigner was jailed indefinitely yesterday after he admitted carrying out an arson campaign against those he believed were linked to the animal testing laboratory Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).

Donald Currie, 39, considered by police to be a senior member of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), was told that he would not be freed from prison until it was decided that he did not pose a risk to the public, and would be jailed for a minimum of five years.

He admitted using home-made bombs to carry out arson attacks at the home of an executive for GlaxoSmithKline, which has been linked to HLS, and at the Reading home of a director of a specialist courier firm.

John Price, for the prosecution, said Currie had a "quite implacable and now violent commitment to the cause" of animal rights and opposing vivisection.

An ALF spokesman, Keith Mann, said: "Far from deterring further meaningful opposition to animal testing, this will only make matter worse for HLS."

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