Eskimo accused of 'apocalyptic green spin' in row over Stansted expansion

Aqqaluk Lynge, from Greenland, is visiting Britain this week to protest against the expansion of Stansted Airport in Essex, arguing that aviation-linked global warming is destroying the Eskimos' way of life.

But he became the subject of a savage counter-attack by a new industry campaign backed by airlines and airport owners.

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Flying Matters, chaired by Tony Blair's former Energy Minister Brian Wilson, said 59-year-old Mr Lynge's claims that Britain's foreign-holiday habit was causing the melting of ice floes near the North Pole were exaggerated.

Mr Wilson said: "An apocalyptic campaign of green spin confuses the issues rather than doing anything to resolve them.

"Trying to stop ordinary people doing what the vast majority of them do only very occasionally is a complete dead-end."

His comments mark a dramatic raising of stakes in the industry battle with environmentalists, who claim that flying must be curbed to save the planet.

Until now, airlines have been shy of head-on confrontations with green campaigners.

But Flying Matters will launch advertisements showing images of iconic holiday sights such as the Statue of Liberty and Taj Mahal alongside signs saying 'No Entry'.

The aim of the campaign, provocatively timed to coincide with Mr Lynge's visit, is to mobilise Middle England against environmentalists seeking new taxes on foreign holidays and curbs on airport expansion.

The Inuit leader will give evidence to the Stansted expansion public inquiry...having flown in from Greenland via Copenhagen. Mr Lynge, who was raised in a log cabin and hunted from a kayak as a child, dismissed suggestions that he was hypocritical to campaign against flying when he used planes himself.

He said: "There is a long way to go and I couldn't do it by kayak. Planes are sometimes necessary.

"I could not have come here without travelling by plane. But I came here for an important purpose. Most flights from Stansted Airport are not for an important purpose. They are mostly for holidays."

BAA, which administers Britain's airports, is proposing to increase the number of Stansted flights from 72,000 to 264,000 a year.

Campaigners say that the resultant increase in carbon dioxide emissions will contribute to climate change.

Mr Lynge said that global warming was leading to unpredictable weather in the Arctic, making it harder for his people to hunt and fish on the sea ice.

"For generations, uncounted Inuit have observed the environment and have accurately predicted weather, enabling us to travel safely on the sea ice to hunt seals, whales, walrus and polar bears,' he said.

"We don't hunt for sport or recreation. Hunters put food on the table. You go to the supermarket, we go on the sea ice. Eating what we hunt is at the very core of what it means to be Inuit.

"When we can no longer hunt on the sea ice and eat what we hunt, we will no longer exist as a people."