The BAA Stitch-Up Over the Third Runway
The consultation document launched on 22 November last year reached an absurd conclusion – that a new airport the size of Gatwick could be bolted on to Heathrow without any adverse environmental effect. It never commanded any credibility and has often been the object of derision. But what is so disturbing about the Sunday Times revelations of 9 March is the exposure, based on documents uncovered by FOI requests, of just how deceptive and manipulative Government Departments can be in pursuit of a pre-determined objective and how far they are prepared to collude with corporate interests in defiance of any objective standards of integrity and honesty.
What these FOI documents reveal (to be found at extra.timesonline.co.uk/heathrow/foi1,2,3,4) is that BAA gave directions to DfT officials on how to strip out data in the consultative documents which showed that the expansion would cause unlawful levels of pollution and extra noise. They show that BAA repeatedly selected alternative data for the consultation devised in order to ensure that the final results showed an insignificant impact on noise and pollution.
They also show that BAA gave unprecedented access to confidential papers and allowed the company to help to rewrite the consultative document. And they show that the final document significantly reduces the third runway emissions by simply excluding incoming international flights. We also know that one official involved in Project Heathrow which researched the environmental impact of the runway said: “It’s a classic case of reverse engineering. They knew exactly what results they wanted and fixed the inputs to get there. It’s appalling”.
Now if all this is true – and none of it has been denied – it indicates that a line has been crossed which is wholly unacceptable. Irrespective of the issue, the people of this country expect the Government, of whichever party, to produce a case, for whatever policy they may choose, which is fair, balanced and to the fullest possible degree accurate and honest. The era of spin and manipulation has done fearful damage to the political culture of this country, and politics will not recover until the public becomes confident that they are being told the truth, however hard the truth may be, and not simply a massaged version to suit the interests of the powers-that-be.
Several implications follow. The consultation document should be withdrawn and replaced by a much more honest and accurate one before it is legally challenged in court and before a judge requires it to be withdrawn. There must be accountability for this episode and – assuming no Ministers were involved in the massaging of the data – the leading civil servants involved, including David Gray who is named as leader in all the FOI documents released, should be disciplined and if necessary removed as would occur in any other sector of employment.
And in addition the Government really must stop going through the formalities of a consultation where it is clear to everyone that they have already made up their mind. It happened over GM foods, nuclear power, Trident, and now it’s happening over the third runway. The Government must listen more to the people’s voice, in this case the long-suffering and much put-upon people of West London, and listen less exclusively to the big industrial and finance barons. What is good for BA and BAA is not necessarily good for the UK. This Government is there to support the people of this country, not a corporate State.