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Demonstrators bear down on Westminster in fight against Heathrow expansion
Anna Davis20.02.09
CLIMATE change activists demonstrated outside Downing Street against the Government's permission for a third Heathrow runway.
About 150 protesters waved banners and chanted slogans against the decision which they say will be catastrophic for the environment.
Nearby, a counter-demonstration in support of airport expansion was held in Parliament Square, organised by the Modern Movement group. Around 20 gathered to argue for ever-cheaper flights and freedom of movement.
The Downing Street demonstration was organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change, and supported by the protest group Plane Stupid and residents of Sipson, who will lose their homes when the 7,200ft runway is built sometime between 2015 and 2020.
Last month Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon announced the Government's intention to press ahead with the £9 billion Heathrow expansion, despite strong opposition.
Labour MP John McDonnell, who was at the demonstration, said: "The message to Gordon Brown is very simple: He may well be in the pockets of BAA, but it is the people who will decide this matter at the end of the day."
Layla Dean, spokeswoman for Plane Stupid, said: "The demonstration was peaceful. There were only around 20 people at the other demo. There was no trouble between the groups, but I do think they are very misguided."
But a spokesman for Modern Movement said: "The extension of flying to millions of people has been a liberation. The development of aviation infrastructure is crucial to allow ever more people to fly."
heathrow protest demonstrators bear down on westminster in fight against expansion
