SHADOW chancellor John McDonnell will be showing his support for the Heathrow 13 at the Houses of Parliament tomorrow afternoon.

Four of those convicted of aggravated trespass at the airport are from West Drayton - part of Mr McDonnell’s Hayes and Harlington constituency – and they will also be supported by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas.

And on Wednesday morning, there will be a rally outside Willesden Magistrates’ Court, where the 13 members of protest group Plane Stupid will be sentenced for their actions last July.

Activist and Greenpeace press officer Graham Thompson, 42, of Hackney, said: “Obviously none of us want to go to prison, it’s actually pretty scary, but I knew it might happen and I feel mentally prepared.

“I’m glad I’m not going down for a mistake or something I regret, that would be a lot harder.”

Ten of those found guilty have no prior convictions. The district judge said custodial sentences near the top of the permitted range were ‘almost inevitable’.

They would be the first people ever to be imprisoned for aggravated trespass in the UK, according to Plane Stupid.

On Valentine’s Day the group gathered in the 11th century pub Five Bells in Harmondsworth, which would be under threat of demolition if the plans were to go ahead.

Each of the activists was ‘adopted’ by a resident of the area who promised to write to them if they were sent to jail.

John Stewart, chair of the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (HACAN), said: “It was made 100 per cent clear that the activists won’t be alone when they are sentenced.”

The protestors used bolt-cutters to cut the fence to gain entry before erecting 6ft high scaffolding on the runway and attaching themselves to it with locks and chains.

Some remained there for up to six hours and as a result 25 flights were cancelled.

The government is expected to make a decision about a third runway later this year.