Watered-down injunction granted

4:51pm Monday 6th August 2007

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BAA is celebrating a hollow victory today after being granted a heavily watered down injunction against environmental campaigners.

A BAA spokesman outside the High Court welcomed the injunction as helping to keep Heathrow Airport "safe and secure", but campaigners claim the decision is a victory over BAA.

The company, which owns Heathrow Airport, had sought an injunction against John Stewart of HACAN and AirportWatch, Geraldine Nicholson from NoTRAG, and Leo Murray and Joss Garman representing Plane Stupid.

BAA wanted to prevent the four individuals, and all members and supporters of the four campaign groups, from entering land around the airport and from using road and rail links, including sections of the London Underground, M4, and M25.

BAA said it was trying to stop "passengers and staff from being harassed or obstructed by any unlawful direct action" at the upcoming Camp for Climate Action, an environmental protest against climate change and airport expansion taking place next week.

But the judge hearing the injunction application was unimpressed with BAA's "extraordinarily wide-ranging" proposal, which originally covered vast parts of the London transport infrastructure, and could have affected nearly 5 million people.

BAA put forward press releases, newspaper clippings, and a short film supporting their claim that the groups intended to harass the airport and were planning disruptive direct action. Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden, representing BAA, alleged that "lives could be put at risk" if protesters blockaded roads leading to Heathrow, opening them up to terrorist attack.

But Mrs Justice Swift rejected a host of applications from BAA, and dismissed entirely its argument that the groups intended to harass BAA and Heathrow airport. She granted an injunction that does little more than enforce the existing byelaws.

The injunction, which now only covers Leo Murray, Joss Garman, John Stewart, and members and supporters of Plane Stupid, prevents those people from trespassing and causing a nuisance on land owned by BAA during August.

Police have been authorised to arrest those covered by the injunction if they try to trespass on to Heathrow land, or incite others to do so.

But Mrs Justice Swift insisted that she had seen nothing to suggest that Mr Murray, Mr Garman, or Mr Stewart had ever intended to harass anyone.

The injunction applications against Geraldine Nicholson, chair of NoTRAG, and members of HACAN, AirportWatch, and NoTRAG were thrown out by the judge.

Mrs Nicholson will be on holiday for the duration of the Camp for Climate Action, and the judge commented that "it is regrettable that she was ever involved in these proceedings."

Speaking after the decision, Mr Stewart said: "It's a major setback for BAA. They asked for the mother of all injunctions and they have had the mother of all setbacks."

Geraldine Nicholson was delighted with the outcome. She said: "BAA was wrong to target me in this way. I have never given any reason for them to believe that I was an organiser of the Camp for Climate Action.

"The only thing BAA has really achieved is free publicity for the Camp for Climate Action."

The judge also criticized BAA for not consulting with organisations that would be affected by the injunction.

She said: "I find it extraordinary that there should have been no attempt to consult with Transport for London and London Underground in advance."

Mark Bullock, managing director of BAA Heathrow said: "This injunction has never been about stopping lawful and peaceful protests. BAA has always respected people's democratic right to protest lawfully.

"We accept that there is an important debate to be had regarding climate change."

He added: "With the current terrorism threat, keeping Heathrow safe and secure is a very serious business. Any action taken by the protestors that distracts us or the police from this task is irresponsible and unlawful.

"We welcome the decision of the High Court granting an injunction against Plane Stupid and all those acting in concert with them for the purpose of disrupting the operations of Heathrow Airport."

Despite the injunction being granted, environmental campaigners remain defiant.

Joss Garman said: "BAA lost and lost badly. BAA came here to injunct millions and millions of people, and they have failed in that."

The Camp for Climate Action will go ahead as planned, close to Heathrow Airport, from August 14 to August 21.