ANIMAL rights activists have supplanted the IRA as the major security threat to party conferences in Brighton.

Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse has warned security at Labour's conference in the town in September will be just as tight as ever.

As first reported by the Argus, the Government has agreed to fully finance security operations for the first time and has made available a £1.6 million grant for the coming year.

Mr Whitehouse, in welcoming the announcement, said the money should be enough to meet most if not all of the security costs for Labour's conference.

Questions have been raised about whether such an expensive and elaborate operation is needed, especially in the light of the reduced threat from the IRA.

But Mr Whitehouse has no doubts.

Activists have been

targeting Shamrock monkey-import farm at Small Dole, near Henfield, for many months and Sussex Police have been running Operation Cake to protect staff and property.

Mr Whitehouse said: "Problems around Shamrock Farm won't go away, and they might get very much worse."

He said Shamrock protesters and similar groups may cause the greatest security problems at Labour's conference and police will be arranging suitable security.

Since the beginning of last month there have been five public demonstrations involving protesters against Shamrock Farm and there have also been several attacks on staff members and their homes.

Last weekend police presence at the demonstrations was at an all-time high, with 200 officers at the 40-strong protest in Worthing.

The conference trade is lucrative for Brighton, bringing in an estimated £50 million annually.

As well as being first choice for the Labour Party, Brighton is also a popular venue with trade union groups and medical conferences.

Investment in the conference trade is also a priority for Brighton's top 12 hotels, which have ploughed more than £30 million in the last three years into improvements to conference facilities.

Earlier this year Culture Secretary Chris Smith held up Brighton as a model conference town, urging other resorts to follow its example.

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