PEACEFUL PROTEST

I attended for about a hour in the late afternoon, the peaceful protest that was held yesterday (Sat 24 April 2010) outside the gates of the site in Brill Place, Somers Town, Camden. The proposed site is across the road from the Midland Road entrance to St Pancras International Railway station.

The site is also surrounded on quite a large scale by residential premises.

Reportedly, protesters had been at the site for quite some time before I arrived and in all there was quite a good sized crowd gathered in and outside the Purchese Street Open Space (a nice little public park) sited opposited the gates of the site.

Various animal rights groups where there with a few stalls such as:
Safer Medicines Campaign (formerly known as Europeans for Medical Progress),

National Anti-Vivisection Society

Animal Aid

Uncaged

And other groups of protesters, some who came from as far afield as Sheffield.

Not sure who was from Camden, but the proposed lab is attracting a lot of attention from all over the country.

There was a film 'crew' (well one person I could see with a film recorder) and various other people with professional looking cameras capturing scenes from the demo.

There was 4 police vans and 8-10 police officers standing in a line outside the site gates and in front of the protesters. As far as I could see police and protesters were well behaved.

A few site employees came out to have a look at what was going on.

NATALIE BENNET AGAINST THE LAB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJLsoc-hdu4

PEACEFUL PROTEST 24 April 2010

Camden Gazette

Animal rights activists to protest over lab bid
nlnews@archant.co.uk

13 April 2010

HUNDREDS of animal rights protesters are set to descend on Camden next week for a demonstration against plans for a £500million medical research lab in King's Cross.

"Several hundred" campaigners will hold a protest vigil in Midland Road opposite the rear entrance to St Pancras International next Saturday.

They oppose controversial plans for a massive superlab due to be built on land behind the neighbouring British Library known as Brill Place.

It would house 1,500 leading scientists from across the globe, with bosses from a consortium including the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK confirming that animal testing would be carried out on-site.

Protest co-organiser Andre Menache, a vet, said: "It will be peaceful. We want to make people aware that there's animal suffering involved and we want the support of the community.

"They don't want it built next door to their homes where their children go to school and next door to an international station. This facility will not be welcomed because of the risk of a terrorist attack and the danger of virus escape which could contaminate the ground and the water supply."

Many residents oppose the plans and say the land should be used for homes and community facilities.

The protest will take place on World Day for Animals in Laboratories with thousands of people taking part in events across London.

Mr Menache added: "Animal experimentation isn't just cruel, its bad science. Last year we had over 2,000 people for WDAIL and we're hoping for more this year. We don't expect all of them to come to St Pancras but there will be several hundred."

A planning application for the lab was to be submitted to Camden Council this spring but officers have demanded the designs be redrafted to be more sympathetic to the surrounding area.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged £250million to the scheme, known as UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation.

UPDATE

http://www.camdengazette.co.uk

Homes row over plans for £523million science lab

nlnews@archant.co.uk
09 December 2009

THE bosses behind a controversial £523million science lab planned for the heart of Somers Town insist the project is "in the public good".

A 3.5-acre swathe of land known as Brill Place - which is behind the British Library - has been earmarked for the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) after being bought from the Government for £85million.

The high security centre, due to open in 2014, plans to conduct pioneering stem cell research to beat fatal diseases including cancer.

Unveiling detailed designs for the UKCMRI, Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse said: "This lab will keep Britain at the forefront of biomedical research in the world. It aims to understand how life works and how we can use that understanding to combat diseases across the spectrum. This is the most exciting science project in a generation."

The centre - a partnership between Cancer Research UK, The Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and University College London (UCL) - will attract leading scientists from around the world.

But neighbouring residents say the land should be used for new affordable homes, as outlined in a Camden Council planning brief dictating what should be built on the site.

The bosses behind the UKCMRI are hoping Camden Council will still grant the centre planning permission.

Professor Malcolm Grant, president of UCL, said: "The planning brief was established in 2003 on the understanding that what would take place would be a commercial development. We're not doing a commercial development. We're providing a development in the public good and dealing with funds from the taxpayer and charity organisations. It's not our brief to provide affordable housing."

He added that "Camden Council has been helpful without giving any particular indications as to what will happen".

UKCMRI will be classified as a Category 3 lab, meaning research into diseases such as influenza will be carried out - but not into deadlier viruses such as Ebola. Animal testing on rats would also take place. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chief executive of the MRC, moved to dampen fears of it becoming a potential terrorist target. He admitted there was an "inherent risk" but said he hoped the Home Office would provide top level security.

Helia Evans, chairwoman of the Ossulston tenants' and residents' association, said neighbours were not happy with the plans. She said: "Most people want housing because that's what we need."

A planning application for the scheme will be submitted in the spring.

A public consultation on the designs takes place tomorrow (Thursday) at Cooper's Lane Community Centre, in Purchese Street, Somers Town, from 3pm to 7pm, Friday from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm.

EARLY DAY MOTIONS

http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/edms.cfm

Early day motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are used for reasons such as publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.

Why bother?

Although there is very little prospect of EDMs being debated, many attract a great deal of public interest and frequently receive media coverage.

Some EDM concerning animal welfare - for full list click HERE

4 USE OF ANIMALS TO TEST FOOD ADDITIVES

87 EU ANIMAL WELFARE

135 ANIMAL PROTECTION POLICY

137 ANIMAL TESTING OF COSMETICS

258 ANIMAL TESTING AND HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS

EU ELECTIONS 4 June 2009

The European Parliament Elections 4 June 2009 - Please think carefully before you vote and consider giving your tick on the ballot paper to the Party or Independent who has a good record in animal welfare issues.

http://www.vote4animals.org.uk/euroelection2009.htm

EMPTY JOBS FOR LOCALS CLAIM

http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2009/030509/news030509_17.html

Camden News - by PAUL KIELTHY
Published: 5 March 2009

‘Hundreds of jobs’ pledge as work begins on £500m superlab project

AS excavators began work on the site of Europe’s largest research laboratory, the woman directing the £500million scheme promised jobs and education benefits to its Somers Town neighbours – but ruled out the social housing that activists and the council have demanded.

Contractors began “exploratory works” at Brill Place, directly behind the British Library, last week.

While the work of the consortium behind the centre in combating cancer and infectious diseases is generally recognised to be world class, the siting of the centre in the heart of Somers Town, next to King’s Cross St Pancras railway station, has caused concern since it was announced in December 2007.

Fay Gillot, programme director of the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) destined for Brill Place, sought to allay fears over security.

“We’re not going to build brick walls around it; we want it to remain open,” she said. “There have to be security barriers but we don’t want them to be too heavy. It will have the feeling that this is a place you can enter.”

Ms Gillot has been given the job of driving the centre from the drawing board onto the 3.6-acre Brill Place site.

Stadium architects HOK were appointed last year but the plans are still in flux, according to Ms Gillot, who said the likeliest design would be around five storeys tall.

While there will be animal research at the lab, (my emphasis) research on primates has been ruled out.

The Brill Place site was earmarked by Camden Council for housing and office spaces, and the lab plans.

Ms Gillot said the consortium of the Wellcome Trust, Cander Research UK, UCL, and the Medical Research Council was still in talks with the council but pledged employment and educational gains.

“It should generate jobs,” she added. “First you have got the construction, then there are going to be 1,500 scientists there, and they will require catering and maintenance which will require 300-400 people. And around the area you generate an economy.”

Plans for the future of Brill Place have yet to be received by the council.(my emphasis)

______________________________________________

EUROPEAN CONVENTION

The UK Government signed the below Convention in March 1986, and it came into force July 2000.

Despite this the number of animals being experimented on in any given year in the UK is increasing and not decreasing as should be. The UK government has failed to honour this agreement.

http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Summaries/Html/123.htm

European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes

Summary of the treaty

The Convention is designed primarily to reduce both the number of experiments and the number of animals used for such purposes. It encourages Parties not to experiment on animals except where there is no alternative. All research into alternative methods should be encouraged. Animals to be experimented on should be selected on the basis of clearly established quantitative criteria and must be well cared for and spared avoidable suffering whenever possible.

To this end, the Convention lays down a number of principles which are to be considered only as a starting point. The Parties meet regularly to examine the application of the Convention and, if appropriate, to extend or strengthen its provisions.

PETITION

Rather strangely in my view, the government has given a response prior to a petition end date concerning the torture lab that is being proposed at Brill Place. The petition end date is 6 Jan 2010 but a response was given on 18 Feb 2009.

http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page18312

We received a petition asking:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop the building of a virus containment facility and animal testing lab on a Camden Council house estate alongside St Pancras International in Kings Cross London UK. The backers for the lab are the MRC, UCL, CRUK and Wellcome Trust. The lab plans have been criticised by MI5, MPs and local people from the area.”

Details of Petition:

“There are plans to build a virus containment facility and animal testing lab in Camden in defiance of the council’s own planning brief calling for 50% social housing. The lab poses a very real virus leak threat similar to the Pirbright Foot & Mouth disaster. The lab will hold animals including cats and dogs which is opposed by many people. We ask that the land be sold and used to benefit the community in a compulsory purchase order.”

Read the Government’s response

This is a response in advance of the closing date from the Government.

The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI) offers a unique opportunity to build one of Europe’s premier medical research facilities in partnership between the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and University College London (UCL).

The UKCMRI medical research centre will advance scientific understanding, allow the development of treatments for diseases, promote greater opportunities for training clinicians of the future, foster greater interaction and knowledge transfer between basic scientists and clinicians, develop close links with outstanding nearby hospitals and engage the public on health issues.

UKCMRI will play a vital role in the regeneration of the local area, creating jobs and boosting the economy. There will be more that 1,200 scientific jobs and over 100 people employed during the construction phase. There is already ongoing dialogue with the local community and a full community consultation will take place this spring and summer.

The Government is aware that concerns have been raised about possible use of viruses in the new facility. Compliance with biosecurity requirements will be a major consideration for the Consortium developing UKCMRI. The Consortium will be working closely with the relevant agencies, including the Health and Safety Executive, and its plans will be developed so that the facilities meet all regulatory requirements.

There are no plans to carry out research involving cats, dogs or primates at UKCMRI.

The partners will seek any necessary advice on measures relating to personnel and physical security.

___________________________________________

There are plans to carry out torture on other animals though! Yuck Yuck disgusting!

SAY NO TO THE INHUMANE(INANIMALE) NEEDLESS TORTURE AND INVASIVE PROCEDURES CARRIED OUT ON ALL ANIMALS. NOT JUST CATS DOGS AND PRIMATES.

SAFETY FEARS

http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2008/120408/news120408_22.html
Camden News - by PAUL KEILTHY
Published: 4 December 2008

Safety fears for superlab

SAFETY concerns at the highest ranks of the Town Hall over the siting of a £500million superlab in Somers Town have been revealed by Freedom of Information disclosures.

The government’s intention to allow scientists to build a research centre exploring cancer and infectious diseases in Brill Place, behind the British Library, was revealed by the New Journal last year.

Now papers disclosed under FoI show that the council’s then safety chief, Lib Dem councillor Ben Rawlings, wrote to senior figures at the Town Hall and Camden police about “community safety concerns I have at this early stage”.

Cllr Rawlings listed animal rights protests, the risk of contamination, and the disruption any incident would cause to King’s Cross-based council services.

His letter, sent on August 21 but drafted in January, reads: “I cannot envisage any proposal for a medical research facility that would be acceptable in this area from a community safety perspective.”

Much correspondence has been exempted from disclosure for security reasons.

Camden police began drawing up draft contingency plans for the site last year.

The council has repeatedly stated that it cannot act on the site until a planning application is submitted, as expected, next year.

The Medical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and University College London are backing the centre.

3M ANIMALS TORTURED IN THE UK

Peta.org.uk

Last year, more than 3 million animals were tortured and killed in the UK in cruel animal tests. Daisy's story is just one of them.

As a puppy, Daisy was sold to a commercial testing facility and confined to a barren cage. Poisonous chemicals were mixed into her food, and she grew sicker and sicker. Eventually, her small body gave up, and she died a painful and lonely death.

Your donation today could help eradicate the abuse of animals in laboratories as well as help end the suffering of many more animals around the world. It may be too late for poor Daisy, but it's not yet too late for other animals who will suffer similar fates. Please give generously and help end animals tests!

NEW LAB DESIGN

http://www.camdengazette.co.uk/content/camden/chronicle/news/story.aspx?brand=CAMCOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newscamc&itemid=WeED27%20Aug%202008%2010%3A15%3A30%3A373

Skyscraper firm to design new lab
nlnews@archant.co.uk 27 August 2008

AN INTERNATIONAL firm of architects behind a Canary Wharf skyscraper and a new wing at the Natural History Museum have been chosen to design a £500million science lab in King's Cross.

The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation is planned to be built by 2014 on land behind the British Library known as Brill Place. It will employ 1,500 staff including leading scientists from around the world to work on cures and treatments for diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, influenza and malaria.

Now the consortium behind the scheme has chosen architects HOK to design the centre. HOK director Andrew Barra clough said: "This facility has the potential to have an extraordinary impact on the wellbeing of our global popu-lation. Our goal is to create an intelligent and memorable building - one which works, and delivers the benefits of re-search and inno-vation.

"HOK has designed the Barclays Bank World Headquarters, at Canary Wharf, and the Darwin zoological centre at the Natural History Museum.Fay Gillott, programme director for UKCMRI, said: "HOK has shown the partner organisations an exciting vision for this building. We want to create a building that will serve the people of London and the UK for decades.

"The lab was anounced despite a wave of opposition from campaigners who say the publicly-owned 3.6 acre site should be used for social housing for Camden residents. Camden Council. Leader Councillor Keith Moffitt has warned it goes against the council's planning brief to build new homes.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

The below is the Governments response to an on-line Petition started on the 10 Downing Street website.

I would argue that the UK Government needs to make a greater commitment to ending all animal testing in the UK and to set a target date for doing so. There really is no excuse for continuing with this outdated and barbaric model of testing.

" The Government's policy on the use of animals in scientific procedures is clear and straightforward. There is still a need for the responsible use of animals for experimental and other scientific purposes to continue if improvements in healthcare and veterinary treatment are to be developed with the minimum of delay and to make proper provision to protect man and the environment from health risks and other hazards.

Some campaigners describe animal experiments as 'outmoded science' and argue that there are better ways of making medical and scientific progress using modern, non-animal methods, such as computer modelling and microdosing.

However, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, animal experiments cannot be carried out if the same objectives can be achieved using non-animal methods. So, as relevant, new and improved technologies and testing methods are developed, they already have to be used instead of animal methods.

Animal tests cannot predict with absolute certainty what will happen in humans, nor are they expected to. All modern medicines are tested in cell cultures, computers, animals and human volunteers: animal studies are used only as a coarse screen for gross toxicity purposes, and for obvious unacceptable side effects, before candidate drugs are tested in human volunteers.

The real safety testing for side effects in such drugs is carried out in large, controlled trials in humans who have the target disease, and at the dose and formulation anticipated for use. There are several human trial phases, and materials may fail at any stage. Despite the pre-clinical testing and the considerable investment required to develop candidate materials to this stage, the failure rate is high - and the figure of only 8% of materials becoming licensed products is of the right order.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the Government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work. The Home Office has oversight of only one of the component parts of the pre-clinical testing programme: the use of animals. The MHRA will only grant a marketing authorisation (MA) if it is satisfied that a product is efficacious, safe and of appropriate quality. The decision to grant an MA is taken based on an overall risk/benefit analysis, recognising that all drugs have some risk attached.

The Government strongly supports the development and use of non-animal alternatives where possible. The National Centre for Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) was announced in May 2004 and acts as a focal point for research into the 3Rs.

The NC3Rs is an independent scientific organisation which provides a UK focus for the advancement of the 3Rs. Working with stakeholders in academia, industry, Government, research funders, regulatory authorities, and animal welfare organisations, the Centre aims to increase the development and implementation of the 3Rs in medical, biological and veterinary research and testing. The Centre is funded by Government and the Research Councils and also receives some funding from the Wellcome Trust and Industry.

We would all like to see a time when medical progress and improvements in healthcare are not dependent on the use of animals. But that time is not yet here. The fact remains that animals will be needed for research for the foreseeable future if we are to continue to develop life-saving medicines."

CAMDEN COUNCIL STATEMENT

http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/press/2007/december/camden-council-statement-on-the-sale-of-the-land-at-the-rear-of-the-british-library.en

Camden Council statement on the sale of the land at the rear of the British Library
Date: 05/12/07

The Prime Minister has today announced that the land at the rear of the British Library has been sold to four organisations to make way for a UK Centre for medical research and innovation.

Cllr Keith Moffitt, Leader of Camden Council said:
“Camden Council will now be carefully assessing the proposed development including the medical research centre against our planning brief.

“Right from the start we have made it very clear to central Government that any proposed development must have the right mix of housing, employment and community facilities for King’s Cross and for Camden as a whole.

“Housing in Camden, especially affordable housing is in short supply and with our residential population expected to grow by 10% by 2016 it has to be a priority. The Council’s planning brief has laid down clear requirements for 50% or more of the new land use to be housing, and 50% or more of that to be affordable housing. We will be very disappointed if the proposed plan ignores this brief.

“Only a few weeks ago we were very much encouraged by the Housing Green Paper, particularly the Government's desire to better co-ordinate the use of public land to address the shortage of housing. However in this case the Government seem to have fallen at the first hurdle when it comes to putting their own policy into practice.

Ref Code: ST78
Contact: 020 7974 5717
pressoffice@camden.gov.uk

OTHER ISSUES

Letters page CNJ 1 May 2008

Need to fight against ‘danger lab’

• WE attended one of the poorly advertised open meetings held by the Medical Research Council consortium at the Somers Town community centre.

The MRC claim that local people are very interested in this exciting project”. The need for huge, top-notch security men on the door of, and inside, the community centre indicates how local people really feel and I hope that the MRC are invoiced for these security costs.

The MRC are also claiming that the centre won’t be “dealing with really dangerous diseases like ebola or lassa fever” yet have not ruled out, and refused to comment on, whether pathogens such as anthrax or rabies would be held in the centre.

It will be at least a “level three” facility, and these do hold deadly viruses and diseases.

Their leaflet states that “no security warnings have been issued about our plans” and that they are liaising with security and emergency authorities.

Indeed, a security alert was leaked by MI5 about the plans for the site also owned by the consortium, on Hampstead Road, close to the Regent’s Park estate. The plans for this were abandoned because the site was too small.

The site at Brill Place, given its proximity to St Pancras International, King’s Cross and Euston, is surely a far more dangerous idea.

As for “working closely with the authorities”, we have as proof, in the form of a document, that emergency services including British Transport Police, London Fire Brigade etc were not informed or consulted.

It is they who will have to deal with a deadly virus leak or terror attack so close to international transport terminals.We are appalled at the statement issued by MRC who say they “understand the concerns about housing but local people need to remember that the centre will help fight diseases such as TB that affect people living in the area and other serious health issues”.

Tuberculosis thrives in overcrowded and poor living conditions. Building the centre on the already overcrowded and deprived Somers Town estate will, in fact, contribute to the spread of diseases such as TB and stress-related illness such as heart disease.

The MRC claim that “security will be improved on the estate by placing the centre here”, in fact horrifying local people.It is very likely that armed police will patrol the estate if the laboratory goes ahead.None of us has forgotten the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes who was killed after being mistaken for a terrorist.The MRC claims that building the lab will boost the economy are groundless.

Building council homes and community facilities will provide employment in areas of construction, security and other projects, employing local people, whereas the MRC plans will provide jobs for people only outside the local area and security will be in the form of state-controlled armed forces.St Pancras & Somers Town Councillor Roger Robinson is calling for an open meeting between the MRC and the people of Camden.

The MRC meet-and-greet sessions were conducted in what amounts to secrecy and were addressed only to the people of Somers Town when the issues affect everyone – not just in Camden but London and further afield.

The MRC are attempting to keep the controversial laboratory plans confined and contained within a small area to prevent feedback and protest. Local people were given just a couple of days’ notice regarding the meet-and-greet sessions and people living in the rest of Camden were not informed at all.

When I asked a representative why this was, I was told (and I quote): “Well, we did dump some leaflets here in the community centre and some more down near one of the shops where the community go.”

This lack of professionalism is very worrying. The consortium claim that they are professional and stringent.

Foot and mouth disease was leaked from an equally professional and stringent facility at Pirbright in Surrey.We suggest that community leaders, tenants’ associations and community centre groups get together to for a Camden people’s forum in support of the Somers Town People’s Forum to give all those across Camden who will be affected a stronger voice in campaigning against this.

Mandy Ford & Sue WHitaker, Elijah B, Jim Beresford

London Against Camden Danger Lab

www.myspace.com/londonagainstblisslab

MEDICAL RESEARCH IN THE 21st CENTURY

The debate surrounding the ethics of medical research is an emotive one.

We have all used medicines and products that claim (and many do) to help with this ailment or that medical condition, or vanity products such as hair colourants or aftershave. All have firstly been tested on animals, who are breed for a life of cruel and amoral suffering. The life's these poor souls lead is of constant pain, suffering and degradation - because they are viewed by many in society as a commodity to be used for the benefit of humans.

As someone who is against animal experimentation because of the above reasons, morals do have to come into the equation - and it is morals and ethics that is missing within the medical research and pharmaceutical industry. The UK government does not help matters by continuing to ignore the issue.

Many medical professionals, politicians and layperson alike argue against the use of animals in product testing and science. Alternatives models of testing are not being explored by the UK government the medical research industry despite the wealth of research and information done by modern medical professionals and animal rights campaigners.

Medical research and science innovation is a global industry and like all other profit making industries, will deceive the public and play on the emotions of humans who are suffering with various illnesses and conditions - we can save you - we can eradicate your pain - we can make you young again - make you beautiful - but we must experiment on defenceless animals to do so - the choice is yours!. Put this way it makes it very difficult for all peoples to oppose medical research that is less then ethical.

Medical and scientific research in the UK is lagging behind other industries in decreasing and eventually stopping animal testing on its 'products' - many big name corporations such as Marks and Spencer, the Co-operative and Superdrug (to name a few) produce own brands that have not been tested on animals, and other brand names have already taken on the challenge of reducing and eventually ceasing to sell products tested on animals.

Its now time for medical and scientific researchers and government to do likewise and take on the challenge.