Four activists guilty of blackmail

Dec 23 2008

Four animals rights activists have been found guilty of blackmailing companies who supplied Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Gerrah Selby, 20, Daniel Wadham, 21, Gavin Medd-Hall, 45, Heather Nicholson, 41, and Trevor Holmes, 51, were alleged to have orchestrated the campaign which ran between 2001 and 2007, Winchester Crown Court heard.

All five denied conspiracy to blackmail but Selby, Wadham, Medd-Hall and Nicholson were found guilty. Holmes was cleared of the charge.

One of the jurors refused to be seen in court while the verdict was announced after 33 hours and 48 minutes of deliberation.

Sentencing will take place on January 19 at Winchester Crown Court.

Selby, Wadham and Medd-Hall were released on conditional bail, while Nicholson was remanded in custody.

Three other people - Gregg Avery, Natasha Avery and Daniel Amos - have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail.