CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight to the bitter end following the Government’s announcement today that a third runway will go ahead at Heathrow.

Transport secretary Geoff Hoon made the announcement this morning that the Government is to go ahead with expansion, which will destroy the villages of Sipson and Harmondsworth.

Geraldine Nicholson, chair of the No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG), said: “The Government has not listened to the views of the people. Once again it is siding with big business. Our support has come from all quarters and continues to grow every day; this decision will only intensify the determination of the opposition to expansion at Heathrow.”

Christine Shilling, press secretary for NoTRAG said: “These communities are ours. They do not belong to a Spanish construction company. This is the wrong decision. The Government had a chance to set an example – to constrain aviation demand – it has failed.

“This is not the end. It is simply the end of the beginning.”

John McDonnell, MP for Hayes & Harlington said “Opponents will use every mechanism possible to prevent the runway going ahead including campaigns in Parliament, in the courts, in the planning process, in the media and if necessary in direct action.

“The Government’s announcement is not the end of the battle against the third runway, it is just the beginning.

“If the Government is not willing to listen to Parliament or the people then there is no other option but to mobilise the largest coalition of public opposition and protest to halt this disastrous proposal in its tracks.”

Campaign group HACAN condemned the Government’s decision Chairman John Stewart said: “There will be fury at this decision which flies in the face of the facts. But it will mean that campaigners will re-double their efforts to stop expansion. People will fight the Government in the courts, in their communities, in the town halls and, if necessary, on the tarmac of Heathrow Airport.

Campaign groups HACAN and NoTRAG, along with the local authorities, have said they will now be consulting their lawyers with a view to mounting a legal challenge.