This dispensation was called for by John Major, a former Tory prime minister, whose constituency included the Huntingdon laboratories.There was no hint of the write-off in a statement by the bank and some senior directors were said to be appalled by the deal, which was sealed at 6am yesterday with the personal involvement of the Science minister, Lord Sainsbury.The anonymous US backers will put up around £12m, most of it towards paying back two banks which have lent Huntingdon more that £5m each, but have managed to keep their identities under wraps. They are Allfirst, a US subsidiary of the Dublin-based Allied Irish Banks, and Comerica, a £25bn finance giant, headquartered in Detroit. The new deal will secure Huntingdon’s financial future until at least 2006.Lord Hunt said: “I reckon this will have a positive impact on British banks because they will see that the Government is determined to ensure that this legal activity is allowed to go ahead.”Mr Straw had warned the Cabinet on Thursday that the Government had to stand up to the protesters’ threats because the pharmaceutical industry, with its thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of exports, could leave Britain if it was denied animal tests in this country.Ministers are hoping that public revulsion at the tactics of some of the animal-rights activists, including the fire bombing of cars at the homes of lab technicians, will swing public opinion in favour of allowing research to continue, in spite of widespread disapproval of vivisection.The union representing workers at Huntingdon met Mr Straw last week to demand tougher laws to protect their workers.. The woman in the full-length (fake) fur coat held a monkey mask to her face. “We are all related to chimpanzees, young man,” she told a policeman.

Royal Bank of Scotland clerks watched from an upstairs window as her fellow protesters stomped about in the snow, with their placards, posters, whistles, and megaphones. The woman in the full-length (fake) fur coat held a monkey mask to her face. “We are all related to chimpanzees, young man,” she told a policeman. Royal Bank of Scotland clerks watched from an upstairs window as her fellow protesters stomped about in the snow, with their placards, posters, whistles, and megaphones.
Supporters of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac) were touring the City of London on Friday morning with an escort of police officers in fluorescent yellow. They stopped outside branches of banks with a financial interest in Huntingdon Life Sciences.”Want to know what happens to a beagle when you pour weedkiller down its throat?” demanded a thin young man in a black ski hat, through a loud hailer “The dog dies a horrible death.

If you bank with the Royal Bank of Scotland you’re contributing to that.”"Evil,” chanted the group. “Close down HLS!”Dwarfed by monolithic banks, this small demonstration seemed impotent – but its target had been brought close to bankruptcy thanks to the extraordinarily effective campaign run by Shac.The core of the group is small – fewer than a dozen, full-time campaigners who live close to each other in Gloucestershire – but its dramatic actions have made Shac the biggest new name in the animal protest movement. Over the past year its supporters have harassed the staff of Huntingdon Life Sciences, written to or telephoned all its shareholders, and persuaded several big investors to pull out. There have also been death threats, letter bombs, and fire attacks, although the leaders of Shac denied any involvement with such violence.On Friday, directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest discussed whether to call in the loan keeping Huntingdon afloat. As they did so, protesters were outside branches across the country. Was it worth shouting in the street? “Absolutely,” said the woman in the monkey mask, a 66-year-old from Soho called Mary McMillen “We are an embarrassment to them.

We spread knowledge, that’s the thing.”The group of 30 or so pro-testers included young punks in black with Class War badges and pensioners who appeared to have come direct from the Post Office queue. Others looked as though they would not hesitate to cause suffering to humans in the name of animal welfare. The most exotic looking member of the group was the actress and painter Ms McMillen. “I was in Dr Who and the Underwater Menace in 1962,” she said. What did she play? “The Menace, dear.”Did she approve of those who sent letter bombs? The question had to be repeated “I’ve never done it Is it justified? Not usually. I would worry about getting the wrong target.”Drastic action was called for when democracy failed, she said. “There are people who have spent years campaigning against hunting.

If the ban is thwarted by a few toffs in the Lords then I won’t vouch for anything that happens.”Standing slightly away from the group, a neat 35-year-old man in a white designer jacket and immaculate khaki trousers smiled nervously It was Ian’s first time. He had become a supporter of Shac through its website, after being involved in various RSPCA campaigns, but had never taken part in a direct action.He didn’t want to get arrested “I am a law-abiding person who believes in peaceful process Everybody has to account for their own behaviour. If they feel comfortable standing in front of a court explaining what they did, that is a matter for them. There are people here who have got various jobs who might not wish to find themselves in court.”Greg Avery would see it as an occupational hazard.