ONE of Britain’s most respected research establishments has ordered an urgent inquiry after claims that its staff breached welfare standards by mistreating laboratory animals.

Footage secured by an animal care technician working undercover at Imperial College London for the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) appears to show rats being decapitated with a guillotine and moving during operations. Rodents are also heard squealing as parts of their ears are cut off with scissors for biopsies.

Researchers at the university, which came 8th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2012-13, are heard confessing ignorance about what the rules permitted them to do and technical issues such as how much pain relief to give the animals.

One researcher, who is seen carrying