Bowing to pressure 'fuels intimidation'

Animal rights extremists feed on their own 'success', and city traders ceasing to manage shares because of pressure from the extremists will fuel tactics of harassment and intimidation, the ABPI has warned.

Winterflood Securities has confirmed it has withdrawn as one of the two market-makers for Huntingdon Life Sciences, the drug testing company that has been plagued by animal rights protesters. The company withdrew its support claiming they were 'fed-up with the whole thing' and claiming that staff working for the company have been intimidated over the past few months, with groups of protesters gathering outside their homes and threatening letters and emails being sent.

'We appreciate,from our own experiences, the pressures the City is under, faced with the evil tactics being used by animal extremists. Mob rule is unpleasant and dangerous and in the interests of medicines research and the UK as a whole it must be resisted,' said Bill Fullagar, ABPI president.