Moving target: Colin Blakemore

(Photograph) - Moving target: Colin Blakemore, the incoming president of the British Association and for years the target of animal rights activists who oppose his experiments with animals, this week threw open a challenge to those who have terrorised him for years to come to the table and discuss their beliefs.

At the BA's conference in Leeds he told a meeting of the Boyd Group, which was set up to encourage debate between opposing animal rights factions, that he thought it ought to be willing to contemplate discussions with extreme activists. "It's happening elsewhere in politics, bringing the terrorists to the table," he said. University security guards were on hand throughout the debate, keeping Professor Blakemore under close watch.