Animal Rights Extremists (Hansard, 2 July 2001)

§ Lord Sainsbury of Turville

The Government have taken a series of measures to strengthen the response to threats to legitimate businesses by animal rights extremists. The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 provides additional powers to protect companies and individuals from intimidation and harassment. The Act also provides for regulations under the Companies Act 1985 to disapply the requirement for company directors who are at serious risk of violence or intimidation to file their home address on the public record. Instead, they will be permitted to file a service address, which will appear on the public record. They will still be required to file their home address, but this will be kept on a secure register, with access restricted to law enforcement agencies and others that the regulations may specify. My department is working on the regulations in order to lay them before Parliament as soon as possible. In May, the Government set up a ministerial committee, chaired by the Home Secretary, to develop strategies to tackle animal rights extremism.

The Department of Trade and Industry has undertaken to operate banking facilities for Huntingdon Life Sciences plc, which, owing to intimidation of bank staff by animal rights extremists, has been unable to find commercial facilities in the UK, while negotiations with banks continue.

These actions demonstrate the Government's commitment to take positive action to ensure that companies are not prevented from undertaking legitimate business through intimidation and harassment of their staff or suppliers.