Scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories. The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases.

The revelation comes just a day after a committee of scientists warned of a nightmare “Planet of the Apes” scenario in which work on human-animal creations goes too far.

Last night a campaigner against the excesses of medical research said he was disgusted that scientists were “dabbling in the grotesque”.

Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 “admixed”embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act.

This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; “cybrids”, in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and ‘chimeras’, in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.

Scientists say the techniques can be used to develop embryonic stem cells which can be used to treat a range of incurable illnesses.

Three labs in the UK – at King’s College London, Newcastle University and Warwick University – were granted licences to carry out the research after the Act came into force.

All have now stopped creating hybrid embryos due to a lack of funding, but scientists believe that there will be more such work in the future.

The figure was revealed to crossbench peer Lord Alton following a Parliamentary question.

At every stage the justification from scientists has been: if only you allow us to do this, we will find cures for every illness known to mankind. This is emotional blackmail.

Josephine Quintavalle, of pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: “I am aghast that this is going on and we didn’t know anything about it.”

Test centre: Newcastle University was another site where human animal hybrid testing was being undertaken.

Earlier this week, a group of leading scientists warned about “Planet of the Apes” experiments. They called for new rules to prevent lab animals being given human attributes, for example by injecting human stem cells into the brains of primates.

But the lead author of their report,  Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, from the Medical Research Council’ s National Institute for Medical Research, said the scientists were not concerned about human-animal hybrid embryos because by law these have to be destroyed within 14 days.

He said: “The reason for doing these experiments is to understand more about early human development and come up with ways of curing serious diseases, and as a scientist I feel there is a moral imperative to pursue this research. As long as we have sufficient controls – as we do in this country – we should be proud of the research.”

However, he called for stricter controls on another type of embryo research, in which animal embryos are implanted with a small amount of human genetic material.

Human-animal hybrids are also created in other countries, many of which have little or no regulation.

The nation’s railway ministry and high-speed rail system have both come under fierce criticism after a fatal collision between two bullet trains Saturday night in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.

The accident killed at least 35,  and was due to an equipment failure caused by a lightning strike.

A total of 192 people were injured, ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said at a press conference on Sunday, adding that 132 injured were being treated at 11 hospitals in the city.

The wreckage of the two trains was removed from the tracks and rail operations had reopened by 7 pm on Sunday.

“China has advanced high-speed railway technology. We are still confident about that,” Wang said.

The bullet trains travel at an average speed of 200 kilometers per hour (kph), while high -speed ones run at between 250 and 300 kph.

Train D301, carrying 558 passengers from Beijing to Fuzhou, rear-ended train D3115, also heading to Fuzhou from Hangzhou with 1,072 people on board, at 8:50 pm Saturday on a bridge close to Wenzhou South Station.

D3115 was forced to halt on the 15-meter-high bridge due to lightning, the ministry said. 

It was unknown how long the D3115 had been stopped before the collision. The train had been scheduled to stop at Wenzhou South Station at 7:57 pm.

Four of the D301’s carriages fell off the bridge, while two of the D3115’s carriages were derailed but did not fall off.

Hundreds of Wenzhou residents flooded to the city’s blood bank on Sunday night to donate their blood in hope of helping the victims.

A local resident, surnamed Zhao, who was among the first to join the rescue efforts, told the Global Times that he saw the train stopped on the track as storms thundered overheard.

“When we heard a very loud crash, I asked my neighbors to come with me to help,” Zhao said, who helped six passengers out of their carriage although only one of these survived.

“It was a total disaster, and the situation worsened when the ambulance arrived only 20 minutes after we called for help due to heavy rain and congested traffic,” Zhao added.

Three officials with the Shanghai Railway Bureau were sacked on Sunday as the investigation got underway.

Long Jing, head of the Shanghai Railway Bureau, Li Jia, head of the bureau’s Communist Party of China, and deputy bureau chief, He Shengli, were removed from their positions, the Ministry of Railways said on Sunday. 

The ministry spokesman Wang offered his condolences to the victims.

When asked about the compensation plans, Wang said unified standards will be applied for both Chinese and foreign passengers.

A Russian and a US passenger were among the injured.

This collision is the latest and most serious accident to put China’s high-speed railway system in doubt.

A high-speed train heading for Shanghai halted for over two hours in Jinan, Shandong Province on July 10, only ten days after the line’s debut.

Another five malfunctions happened in the next four days along the Beijing-Shanghai line, raising doubts about the safety of the trains, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Wang Mengshu, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that a false operation by the engineers might have caused the collision.

“Bullet trains are equipped with automatic warning systems that alert the engineer to decelerate when another train is spotted 4 kilometers ahead. When it is 2 kilometers away, the engineer would be warned to brake,” Wang said.

However, the brake must be manually operated as there is no automatic braking system and therefore the judgment of the engineers must be relied upon, Wang said.

“The accident reflected the technological and managerial flaws of bullet trains. Nevertheless, public confidence over bullet and high-speed trains should not be daunted by one accident,” Wang said.