Animal rights activists are illegally collecting thousands of pounds at street stalls to fund criminality, police said yesterday.

Twenty-one people have been charged in the past six months after a campaign by the Metropolitan Police. Detectives estimate that £80,000 each year has been brought in by two stalls alone, which operate frequently on Oxford Street, Central London.

None of the activists had licences for running the stands, which means that the money they collected was untraceable and unaudited.

Many operate under the banner of animal rights organisations such as Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac), which campaigns to close down Huntingdon Life Sciences, Britain’s biggest research laboratory.

Scotland Yard said that the money was being used to fund criminality or the lifestyle of full-time animal rights extremists. A spokesman said: “Many of the organisations that these people have been collecting ‘on behalf of’ are well-known animal rights activist organisations linked to criminality throughout the United Kingdom.

“The manner in which these people collect money from unsuspecting members of the public is to initially engage with them to talk about animal rights.

“They then invite the person over to their stand, often using a petition to capture their attention. It is often the case that these petitions are never sent anywhere. Those collecting the money have been seen to just put the money straight in their pocket.

“Police believe that this money can easily be used to fund criminality or the lifestyle of full time extreme activists.”

Four people have been ordered by courts to forfeit money that they had collected. Others are to appear later.

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