Mel Broughton

Mel Broughton (born 5 July 1960) is a British landscape gardener who has risen to public prominence as one of the UK's most notable animal rights advocates. He was the co-founder in 2004, with Robert Cogswell, of SPEAK, The Voice for the Animals, a campaign to stop animal testing in Britain, which is focused on opposition to a new animal laboratory at Oxford University.

Broughton was jailed for two years and eight months in 1999 after police found a firebomb in his car, which he said was intended to destroy animal transporters to stop the live export of animals from the UK to the European continent. He was arrested again and remanded in custody in December 2007 after the Animal Liberation Front planted incendiary devices in Oxford University colleges. A jury cleared him of possessing explosive substances, but failed to reach a verdict on other charges. Following his retrial in 2009 he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit arson. However, in March 2010 Mel Broughton had his conviction overturned, arguing that the DNA evidence in the case had been unreliable. He was later granted bail with "stringent conditions" and was re-tried in June/July 2010. On 13 July 2010 Broughton was once again found guilty and returned to prison to complete the balance of his sentence.

Broughton's father is a former painter and decorator and his mother, Pauline, a care assistant in an old people's home. Both are committed animal rights advocates who work alongside Broughton on the SPEAK campaign. His mother, 70 years old at the time, was injured in September 2004 when a construction worker at Oxford University threw a white burning substance at her during an animal rights demonstration.

Broughton has been involved in animal rights for over 30 years. He worked on Operation Osprey in Scotland when he was 15, living in a tent to guard osprey nests. He later worked in animal sanctuaries, and campaigned against zoos, circuses, factory farming, and live animal exports.

He lives in Northampton with Bella, a rescue dog, devoting most of his time to SPEAK. He told The Independent on Sunday:

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