The government has refuted allegations that the Heathrow Airport consultation process has been influenced by airport operator BAA.

Speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme, MPs Justine Greening and Michael Meacher said they had seen Department for Transport (DfT) papers, which they claim show Heathrow's operator had an undue influence on the consultation.

They claim the DfT ignored and manipulated data relating to the environmental impact of a third runway and sixth terminal, in order to make the case for development more convincing.

Greening, the Conservative MP for Putney, received the DfT papers after submitting a Freedom of Information request.

Both Greening and Meacher say the documents show there was a close relationship between BAA and the DfT.

Meacher, who was the government's Environment Secretary in 1997-2003, even went so far as alleging that there was an "appearance of collusion" between the two parties.

Heathrow Pollution Level

Greening and Meacher say the e-mails show officials from both BAA and the DfT were concerned about the environmental impact of the proposed runway and terminal development.

Specifically, this was in relation to the government's own research which found that 20% of flights at Heathrow in the future were anticipated to be made by four-engined airliners - hence, more pollution of nitrogen dioxide.

Speaking to Panorama, Meacher said: "If I can quote from the e-mails that have been uncovered, 'It was clear that a third runway...would not be possible. Heavy aircraft are disproportionately polluting'."

Meacher went on to say that the Heathrow consultation document showed that the figure of four-engined airliners operating from a third runway would only be 6% - the precise figure which was provided by BAA in its submission to the transport department when the consultation document was being prepared.

Meacher told Panorama: "One does ask the question why they [the DfT] picked 6%? That suggests a closeness of working relationship, I am tempted to say collusion - let's say an appearance of collusion - between the corporate interest and the government, which...makes me very uncomfortable".

Heathrow Noise Report

Greening also claimed that the DfT ignoring the government's £1m report into Heathrow noise completed last year, which showed that people are more especially annoyed by lower levels of noise than before, proved BAA was being advantaged in the consultation process.

Greening told Panorama: "What we see from the papers I've obtained, is that [BAA]...actually led the process".

She added: "The government, of course, rather than accepting this report when it came out, because it reached the wrong conclusions promptly ditched it".

Asked by the programme's reporter as to whether the consultation process had been a "sham", the DfT's Aviation Minister Jim Fitzpatrick strongly refuted the allegations made by Greening and Meacher.

Fitzpatrick said: "We had to talk to them [BAA]. We needed their expertise, we needed their operational experience. It would have been foolish to proceed without it".

He added: "There is no cover-up here, this is pure transparency...We have checked their figures...and the documentation which has been produced is not BAA's figures, these are our [DfT] figures".

Source - Airport International's London Reporter

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