Heathrow plans undermine Labour's green rhetoric

12.00.00am GMT Thu 15th Jan 2009

Commenting on the Government's decision to allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow, Ceredigion's Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Mark Williams said:

"This announcement proves that the Labour Government is not and never has been serious about tackling climate change. "The building of a third runway and a sixth terminal is a major project that has created huge public interest. It is very disappointing that the Government didn't allow a parliamentary vote on this decision for fear that they would lose. "Geoff Hoon rightly says that this is an issue that affects the whole country, yet the Government are not prepared to allow us a vote, despite the huge opposition to these plans by MPs and the public, not just in and around Heathrow, but across the country. "We need the Government would show courage and invest in a new high speed rail network connecting the major cities of the UK, which would lower the demand for domestic air travel from Heathrow, allowing us to take a major step in the fight against climate change."