Cambridge lab accused of cruelty to monkeys

Cambridge University has launched an inquiry into allegations that monkeys used in brain experiments were treated horrifically by researchers.

Undercover animal welfare campaigners say secret film shows monkeys having the tops of their skulls sawn off and their brains damaged or removed by sucking, cutting, or the injection of toxins.

A member of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), who worked as a lab technician at the university for 10 months, said she had become "desperately disturbed" by the tests on marmoset monkeys.

BUAV said the experiments for research into Parkinson's disease, strokes and brain function contravened Home Office guidelines. Michelle Thew, its chief executive, said the group's investigation gave "a chilling insight into the ways monkeys are used in highly invasive research".

Cambridge University said in a statement yesterday it was taking the matter very seriously and had begun an inquiry into the claims.