Animal rights activist Mel Broughton has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson and has been sentenced to ten years in jail.
Broughton must serve at least five years before being eligible for release.
He conviction follows the discovery of petrol bombs hidden under a portable building in the grounds of Templeton College in February 2007.
Although the bombs failed to go off, a man was present in the buildings at the time, and the army bomb disposal unit had to be called to dismantle the devices and make the area safe.
Throughout the case, Broughton denied the charges, saying that he though he could understand why people would take direct action, he had only helped to organise legal demonstrations.
Part of the evidence that lead to the conviction this week was a DNA sample found on a matchstick used in the construction of one of the devices.
When police searched Broughton’s Northampton home, they found sparklers used to make the improvised incendiary devices in a water tank in his bathroom.
Broughton claimed that he had hidden these devices out of “paranoia” that police would misinterpret his ownership of them.
He claimed to have been under constant surveillance from the police.
Other evidence presented to the jury included Broughton’s “inflammatory speeches” and fingerprints found on the unexploded devices.
This was the second trial that Broughton has faced with relation to these incidents. He was tried in December 2008, but the jury were unable to agree on a verdict.
He had previously served over two years in prison after being convicted in 1998 of conspiracy to cause an explosion after the police found a bomb in his car.
Jurors were also told of a six month suspended sentence that Broughton had received in 1988 after a failed attempt to free a dolphin from an amusement park in Morcambe, Lancashire.
Broughton is a well-known figure in Oxford as the leader of the pressure group Speak, and has been seen as the figurehead of the animal rights campaigns against the building of an animal testing laboratory in South Parks Road.
Members of the University were called as witnesses throughout the trial, including Vice-Chancellor John Hood, who spoke of the campaigns of “intimidation” directed towards contracting companies involved with the building of the laboratory.
Judge Patrick Eccles criticised the campaigns, saying that many of them have been enacted by “individuals who have no care for the feelings or sense of security of the innocent men or women who happened to be associated with the laboratory.”
He spoke of the “real and profound sense of fear has pervaded the lives of very many people here in Oxford” as a result of Broughton’s actions.
The prosecution lawyer Paul Harrison said outside the court that Broughton was not a peaceful protestor, as he had claimed, but someone who “played a far more pro-active and sinister role by taking part in a fire bombing campaign.”
He added that today’s events in court could serve as a reminder that campaigns of intimidation would not be tolerated.
“This prosecution demonstrates that, where there is evidence of criminal behaviour, regardless of the perceived cause, a prosecution will almost certainly follow.”
However, a spokesperson for Speak said that the events at court today would not deter animal rights activists from protesting, stating “We are more determined than ever to continue the campaign against Oxford University’s abuse of animals.”
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the University of Oxford said that they would remain vigilant, stating “we will continue to work with all relevant authorities to protect staff and students from criminal activity of any kind.”
