'Brilliant' doc jailed for sabotage

LONDON - A "brilliant" cancer specialist who sabotaged companies linked to animal experiments was yesterday jailed for three years.

Joseph Harris, 26, was driven to animal activism by an "increasing moral dilemma" prompted by testing animals in his research into a treatment for pancreatic cancer.

He caused $71,600 damage in attacks on three companies linked to the animal-testing firm Huntingdon Life Sciences, beginning his campaign on the day he was awarded his PhD.

The judge expressed regret that a custodial sentence would be a "great loss" to sufferers of gastro-intestinal cancer who might otherwise have benefited from his expertise as a doctor of molecular biology.

- INDEPENDENT