Campaigners win in court to stop Heathrow ‘expansion’

Govt will not appeal ruling

LONDON, Feb 27, (AP): Campaigners won a court ruling Thursday to block the plan for a third runway at Heathrow Airport on environmental grounds, setting the stage for a new fight over whether to make Europe’s biggest airport even bigger.

The ruling by Britain’s Court of Appeal could stall the 14 billionpound ($18 billion) plan to expand the London airport amid concerns about climate change, pollution and noise. The judges ruled that the government did not take into account its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change in making its decision.

“We won!’’ said an ecstatic London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a longtime opponent of the project.

“Huge’’ Environment Minister and longtime opponent Zac Goldsmith tweeted.

Heathrow Airport said it will appeal to the Supreme Court and says it is “confident that we will be successful.”

Heathrow says a third runway is needed to meet increasing demand for air travel. Parliament approved the plan in 2018, triggering a challenge from environmental groups who say the project conflicts with Britain’s commitments to fight global warming. Local residents also complain about noise, pollution and increased congestion.

But things have changed since Parliament approved the matter. In particular, Boris Johnson, a longtime opponent of the expansion who once promised to lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent the runway, is now prime minister.

Less than a few hours after the ruling, Johnson’s spokesman said the government will not appeal, signaling a change of tone in the leadership.

The ruling opens the possibility that he will use the decision to attempt to kill the measure.

The location of a new runway in

ing uncensored secret documents.

Assange has complained of struggling to hear and concentrate during the extradition hearing, which is being held at London’s high-security Woolwich Crown Court.

Assange has been in Belmarsh Prison, next to the court, since April 2019, when he was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He jumped bail and took refuge in the embassy seven years earlier to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations of rape and sexual assault. (AP)

UK offers guarantee:

Britain’s attorney general offered a guarantee Wednesday not to use oral comments from witnesses testifying before the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in subsequent prosecutions over the fire that killed 72 people.

Suella Braverman wrote to inquiry chair

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southeastern England has been debated for years, pitting the economic benefits of greater expansion versus the consequences of all those additional planes at Heathrow, already one of the world’s busiest airports. The issue is so toxic that politicians created an independent commission to weigh the options.

Amid furious public relations battles, the Airports Commission backed Heathrow in 2015, rejecting plans from Gatwick Airport, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of central London, as well as a proposal to build a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

The Department for Transportation argued the project would permit an additional 260,000 flights a year and give a 74 billion-pound ($99 billion) boost to the British economy over 60 years.

Despite Parliament’s approval, the issue never went away. Environmentalists and local campaigners kept fighting. They were cheered by the court ruling, particularly as the change in the political climate offers greater hope for refusal.

“It surely must be the final nail in the coffin for Heathrow’s attempts to steamroll over local and national opposition to their disastrous third runway plans,’’ said Gareth Roberts, the leader of Richmond Council, which is in the the flight path. “The expansion of Heathrow would be a catastrophe for our climate and environment and for the thousands of Londoners who would be forced to live with the huge disruption it will cause.’’

Meanwhile, the spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government will not appeal the Court of Appeal’s’ decision blocking the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

James Slack said the government’s full position will be laid out in a written statement from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to be published soon.

man Martin Moore-Bick after corporate entities involved in a refurbishment that took place before the fire had threatened to remain silent on the grounds they may incriminate themselves. Such silence has the potential of hampering efforts to learn lessons from what was the greatest loss of life in a fire on British soil since World War II. London’s Metropolitan Police are conducting a separate probe into crimes ranging from gross negligence to manslaughter to health and safety violations. (AP)

UK opens EU trade talks:

Britain published its opening demands for trade talks with the European Union on Thursday, delivering a blunt threat to walk away from the table if there is no progress within four months.

The two sides appear headed for a rocky first round of negotiations as they try to forge a new relationship following the UK’s departure from the now 27-nation bloc.

Britain and the EU both say they want to reach a free trade agreement, but have starkly divergent views on how it should be overseen and what constitutes fair competition between their two economies.

The EU says Britain must agree to follow the bloc’s rules in areas ranging from state aid to environmental protections, and give European boats access to UK fishing waters, if the two sides are to strike a good deal. (AP)