OXFORD University served an unprecedentedly strict injunction yesterday to protect students and staff by banning animal rights activists from screaming through megaphones or taking photographs.

The university wants to shield students from noise and harassment during the exam term. Its decision comes after Tony Blair held a private meeting with senior university figures, industry leaders and police to discuss the threat. No 10 confirmed that the Prime Minister recently met business leaders at Downing Street to discuss strategy on animal rights extremists.

The legal action tightens an existing injunction, which allowed a weekly demonstration against the construction of a new £20 million animal research laboratory, but placed no restriction on noise. Protesters regularly use horns, whistles and play tapes of dogs howling. They also photograph and video staff, students and construction workers.

The High Court order was granted at a hearing behind closed doors on Monday but kept secret from activists until they arrived at the university to protest yesterday. They reacted with outrage, ripping up copies of the order but complying with its demands.

The Oxford injunction has now become one of the most restrictive served against animal rights demonstrators. But the university said it had no choice as even charitable bodies with links to Oxford were being threatened, and that recent website postings had become more threatening.

David Holmes, university Registrar, said: “The working lives of many people in this university are being disrupted by the intimidating levels of loud, abusive and threatening behaviour by protesters. Being subjected to such intimidation for hours on end is deeply unpleasant and stressful.”

However, the university’s attitude towards freedom to demonstrate is called into question by its decision to apply for an even more stringent injunction at a full hearing next month. It wants the weekly protest cut from four hours to one and the maximum number of demonstrators reduced from 50 to 12.

The university claims these restrictions would be “proportionate to the wide range of threats being made against university staff and students and those associated with it”.

The new order will also protect the shareholders of organisations that make donations to the university, as well as staff, students, contractors, suppliers and their families. It will remain in place until a full High Court hearing on April 3.

The emergency order was served on Speak, the group campaigning against the research facility, and the veteran activists Mel Broughton, John Curtin, Robert Cogswell and Max Gastone. The papers also name Robin Webb, as a representative of the Animal Liberation Front, and Amanda Richards, the former leader of Save Newchurch Guinea Pigs. Greg and Natasha Avery, co-founders of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, are also named.

The order forbids protesters from using any “megaphone, klaxon, siren, whistle, drum, noise amplification or any other instrument or appliance to generate noise within the exclusion zone”. It bans cameras or video cameras, including those on mobile phones.

Lawson-Cruttenden, the law firm which brought the injunction, said: “This case is about balancing the right to protest peacefully against the right not to be harassed.”

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