A minister has raised concerns for the welfare of 15 penguins captive in a basement enclosure without fresh air or daylight. Animal welfare minister Baroness Sue Hayman met with a senior representative of Sea Life London Aquarium's parent company Merlin Entertainments on Wednesday as part of a roundtable meeting.

A source said the issue was raised following the event. They said: "Baroness Hayman sought reassurances over animal welfare standards for the penguins at London Aquarium." The Daily Express has backed Born Free and Freedom for Animals' calls for the animals to be moved to a more suitable enclosure.

A petition calling for them to be moved has amassed more than 8,800 signatures.

This newspaper was previously threatened with legal action for daring to call the penguins captive.

Isobel McNally, campaigns officer at Freedom for Animals, said: "We welcome the news that Baroness Hayman has held Merlin Entertainments to account for their treatment of the gentoo penguins they are holding captive at London Sea Life Aquarium.

"There are penguins in that colony who have never seen the light of day or felt fresh air - something that breaches their basic rights as wild animals.

"We hope that Merlin finally sees that their practices are abhorrent, and that they make the responsible decision to rehome the penguins to a more suitable environment."

Twenty four cross-party MPs, dozens of animal welfare groups and celebrities have backed demands for the animals to be moved.

In the wild, gentoo penguins can dive up to 600ft and swim up to 22mph but their tiny 6ft to 7ft pool at Sea Life deprives them of their ability to express their basic natural behaviours of swimming and diving.

Campaigners also repeatedly warn that the Gentoos' wild populations are deemed "stable" with over 750,000 adult individuals, meaning there is no justification in keeping them in captivity.

Chris Lewis, captivity research and policy manager at Born Free, said: "Born Free welcomes the minister looking into the welfare of the gentoo penguins currently being kept in unnatural, artificial conditions at Sea Life London.

"With the recent release of the newly revised zoo standards for Great Britain, which now include penguin specific welfare standards, it is now harder than ever for Merlin and Sea Life to justify that the current enclosure at the aquarium is in any way suitable for the gentoos housed there."

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Baroness Hayman met with the zoo and aquarium sector today to discuss the government's new zoo standards, which will ensure UK zoos and aquariums provide the very best possible care to the animals they look after"

A Sea Life London Aquarium (SLLA) spokeswoman said:"Along with other representatives of zoos and aquariums, Merlin attended a stakeholder roundtable meeting at DEFRA following the recent publication of the updated Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. We were grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion."

The spokeswoman previously added: "Sea Life conforms to all requirements under the Standards of Modern Zoo Practice by providing the relevant zoo licensing authorities with access to its animal records.

"This is in addition to regular visits including zoo licence inspections by these local authorities, alongside additional external inspectors and independent vets, who monitor animal welfare and data on an ongoing basis and will continue to do so.

"SLLA also carries out its own regular health checks on all the animals in its care, while an independent specialist vet also visits every two months for routine assessments, and can also be contacted daily with any other concerns.

"The Gentoo penguin habitat at SLLA was designed with help and advice from specialist vets. It provides an excellent balance of water and land for the penguins which enables them to express their normal behaviours and there is space for them to ensure they have sufficient privacy.

"As part of its overall mission, SLLA provides an opportunity to share the wonders of the natural world in an accessible manner. With the opportunity to educate more than a million people who visit SLLA from all around the globe each year to care for the world's oceans and the marine life within it, we believe this is a hugely positive thing."

To sign the petition to free the penguins, visit this page.