Addiscombe animal rights activist facing jail for blackmail plot
An animal rights activist is due to be sentenced today for blackmailing companies who supplied Huntingdon Life Sciences.
Gavin Medd-Hall, of Selwood Road, Addiscombe, was part of a seven strong gang who orchestrated the campaign which ran between 2001 and 2007.
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BLACKMAIL: Gavin Medd-Hall from Addiscombe
In December Medd-Hall, 45, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court of taking part in the plot which aimed to intimidate firms into stopping business with Cambridgeshire-based Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), which carries out animal testing for medical research.
Computer expert Medd-Hall and his fellow conspirators engaged in tactics ranging from branding hundreds of innocent workers as paedophiles and threatening to kill their children, to sending hoax bombs and items allegedly contaminated with Aids to workers' homes.
One letter sent by the group read: "I am HIV positive and I don't like to see animals ill treated, so here's my suggestion, you stop supporting HLS, and I won't come over and give you HIV". The author then threatened to stab the victim with a needle.
Hundreds of companies were targeted, most of which were only suppliers of HLS and had no direct link to it.
The group's six-year operation was funded with £1m raised in donations to collection tins on high street stalls.
Police said the money donated to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty had been given in 'good faith' who would not have known about its sinister use.
Medd-Hall will be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court this afternoon. The maximum sentence for the offence is 14 years imprisonment.
10 Comments
by Misterkipling, Croydon
Thursday, January 22 2009, 4:39PM
“I hit another one at 6am this mornign on Gravel Hill so careful what yiu wish for eh.
And I was doing 40mph, if I was doing 60mph I wouldn't have hit him.
Breaking the Limit Saves Lives”
by Misterkipling, Croydon
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 11:04PM
“I hit a fox while driving my 4x4 this evening and reading about this sick freak, I think I should have chased the fox's mates over the golf course and got my moneysworth”
by Richard III, Croydon
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 12:16PM
“It's ironic that he behaves like the very animals he tries to save. He is a terrorist and should be treated like 1. There is no excuse. No animal life is valued above a human.”
by Anon, Anon
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 1:08AM
“I don't agree that children should be threatened, if this is true, but i couldn't care less about the people that are harming the animals, they can go to hell for all i care...i do support animal rights..but not threatening to harm a child.”
by Raspberry Rabbit, Scotland
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 1:04AM
“They should serve considerable time. These people are domestic terrorists.”
by Robin Hood, Croydon/Sherwood
Monday, January 19 2009, 6:08PM
“If the authorities were more vigilant welfare groups would not be needed.
Look beyond the actual experiments and see the way the animals are treated by the technicians.Handlers are often bitten or scratched,they retaliate with beatings.Inspector visits are known in advance and surprise everything is pristine when they arrive,then its back to normal the next day.”
by Alan, Forestdale
Monday, January 19 2009, 6:07PM
“Hoax bombs, threatening people's children. But what a nice guy! I hope they throw the book at the ar5e hole.”
by Porter Staff, East Croydon
Monday, January 19 2009, 5:55PM
“I know gavin personally and he is a generally nice guy, his beliefs for this must be extremely strong and the reasons he did these things must be based on factual events. Maximum sentence would be disgusting for him due to murderers and paedophiles do less time than this.”
by Charlotte, Thornton Heath
Monday, January 19 2009, 5:49PM
“Ok, so what Gavin did was illegal, but all his crimes are not half as bad as the things which are going on in these laboratories, with the poor little animals suffering. BTW, HLS primarily test on animals for chemical/industrial type things, not medical as the report states.”
by SCARLETT PIMPERNEL, selsdon
Monday, January 19 2009, 4:16PM
“I cannot agree with every move these guys made but applaud the action in general.It would seem there are a lot of supporters out there note £1000000.00 fighting fund.
The authorities should look far more carefully at what they are allowing some of these companies to get away with in the name of science.The crippling/blinding of some animals just so some dopey air head gets the right lipstick or shampoo.Most of the testing that goes on is pointless and this chemical/ingredient testing is a tiny part of what goes on.Thanks but no thanks.”