Harris responds to animal rights organisation's political challenge

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 13th Feb 2007

Responding to news that Animal Rights organisation Speak, which has led the campaign against the Oxford Animal Research building, is to target him at the next General Election by standing a candidate against him, Dr Evan Harris, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said

"I always knew that my position of support for medical research using animals and support for the victims of animal rights extremism would make me a target, but I in a way I welcome the fact that Speak are entering the political fray where they will have to try to win the argument by reason and engaging in democracy rather than by their other tactics of harassment and intimidation."

Dr Harris, who represents the Lib Dem-Tory marginal seat of Oxford West and Abingdon, said:

"I have defended the right of organisations like Speak to demonstrate and protest within the law by for example opposing the University's attempt to extend further the injunction preventing protesting in Oxford, and I am happy to debate with legal organisations about the benefits of tightly-regulated medical research using animals."

"I reject absolutely the suggestion that I am in some way "anti-animal" simply because I support the use of animals in human and veterinary research. Many times more animals are killed in abattoirs for menu choice, so on that basis all non-vegetarians are even more "anti-animal".

"It is astonishing that on the day that Speak claim to embrace democracy they explicitly refuse to condemn acts of terrorism and violence carried out in the name of their cause. It is no surprise that they are called extremist and no surprise that they can't shake off that label"