HEATHROW TRIES TO BAN THE QUEEN

28-07-2007

The Queen and five million other Britons could be banned from travelling on the M4 and M25 motorways next week under one of the most draconian injunctions ever drawn up. Stirrer readers who are members of the National Trust or RSPB could be affected too.

Lawyers acting for Heathrow Airport have applied for the injunction, to try and prevent activists setting up a "Climate Camp" protest next week.

Those involved in this direct action are though to belong to the Airport Watch pressure group, but who they are - or indeed when or where they’ll strike - hasn’t been made clear.

Hence the attempt to ban all of their members from large sections of the M25 and M4 motorways and the rail network.

Trouble is, Airport Watch is an umbrella group representing Friends of the Earth, the National Trust, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the Woodland Trust.

Their combined membership is 5 million people - and as Her Majesty is patron of CPRE, presumably she’s included too. Could she be arrested on her way to Windsor Castle? We shall see.

Chris Crean, West Midlands spokesman for Friends of the Earth, which is mounting a legal challenge on Wednesday, warned that if Heathrow’s lawyers are successful, it could severely restrict the right to protest in Britain.

“This heavy handed attempt to stifle protest shows how out of touch they are about people’s concerns about climate change”, he said.

“The application for an injunction should be stopped and the aviation industry should scale down its proposals for airport expansion at Heathrow and across the UK.

“A strong climate change law which includes aviation would help address these concerns.

“While Heathrow may not be in our region the aviation industry is wreaking havoc across the West Midlands notably in Solihull and Coventry.

“There are also other airports with an eye on expansion such as Wolverhampton and possibly RAF Cosford if it were ever allowed to operate civil aircraft.

“All of these environmental organisations have thousands of members across the West Midlands region who could be banned from Heathrow, its environs and associated transport links as part of this legal action by Heathrow Airport Limited”

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