More than £7million was spent policing last month's climate change protests at Heathrow, it has emerged.

The cost of policing the 11-day event was revealed yesterday at a Metropolitan Police Authority meeting.

Commander Bob Broadhurst, who was in charge of policing the protests, said the full figure was closer to £7.3million as 16,000 officers' shifts over the 11 days were required to maintain order.

Police made 70 arrests as protestors demonstrated against any further expansion at Heathrow.

Protestors and police clashed on the final day of the protest when hundreds of activists blockaded the car park of Heathrow's operator BAA.

Richard Barnes, London Assembly Conservative spokesman for crime and policing, said steps needed to be taken in the future to ensure the burden of policing such protests did not fall on the police.

"The majority of protesters at Heathrow over the summer were peaceful and law abiding especially those local residents opposed to expansion of the airport. The fact remains however that poor management by many groups across the country led to the need for a huge policing operation at a massive cost to Londoners.

"Whilst climate change is a pressing issue, and I also oppose the expansion of Heathrow any further, such protests must be better co-ordinated by groups so not to burden police forces with costs they can ill afford to bear."

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