Oxford University defeated in the High Court

It seems that the only thing you need to claim a victory these days is to have the media on your side. Apparently - judging by today’s coverage - Oxford University have won a significant coup against SPEAK campaigners. Which – as it happens - just goes to prove that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear – and that there are two sides to every story.

Despite putting on a brave face, Oxford University officials must be very disappointed with the new injunction they were awarded in the High Court today. One might even hazard a guess that there may be some in their camp wondering quite why they even bothered, given that the order handed down today bears a striking resemblance to that granted to the university in November 2004.

The estimated £150,000 spent on legal fees will no doubt have Oxford University’s legal team smiling as they count the coffers this evening, but it’s worth reminding those interested that the money dispensed with in such a throwaway manner is taxpayers’ money – money pledged by the Labour Government to support animal abuse.

So what did that money buy Oxford University? Far from conforming to the blueprint they had submitted, the new injunction grants them very little extra. Had their original requests been granted, animal rights protestors could – in the worst case scenario – have been excluded from a city within their own country, or at the very least, could have been banned from going anywhere near a half mile exclusion zone from the lab build itself. In the event, what they got was an exclusion zone that was extended by about a 100 yards, which hardly constitutes a victory as the university are claiming!

SPEAK supporters can rest assured that the injunction will not restrict SPEAK in its fight to stop Oxford University’s plans to build their new animal torture centre. The fight continues and it's business as usual tomorrow. The University may have had their day (such as it was) in the High Court, but it's not in the High Court that the fight will be won over whether the laboratory gets built or not. It will be won out in the streets, in Oxford and elsewhere, where SPEAK is at its strongest, supported by a sizeable proportion of the public.

Oxford University’s record with regard to the laboratory build has been marked by failure. In attempting to avoid close scrutiny, they deceived the public; they failed to consult with Thames Valley Police, Oxford City Council or University academics throughout the entire planning procedure; they failed to disclose the fact that the South Parks development was to be a dedicated animal lab; and they failed in their attempt to hoodwink the court. Now they think they can build an animal research laboratory that they believe they can run effectively, well so far things haven’t gone exactly to plan for the university. SPEAK intends it should remain that way.