Ruth Kelly's delay over the decision on Heathrow Airport expansion has been branded a "runway wobble".
Climate change campaigners Greenpeace have hit back at yesterday's announcement that Ms Kelly's decision will now be made at the end of the year.
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: "The Government is having a massive runway wobble. The Department for Transport sought to fix pollution data and marginalise the opposition of tens of thousands of people.
"The massive impact a new runway would have on our chances of tackling climate change has also been completely sidelined in this consultation."
In her written statement, Ms Kelly said the high number of responses received during the consultation has delayed her decision.
She said: "Almost 70,000 individuals and organisations representing all sides of the debate responded to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation, which my officials are still analysing.
She added: "We also want to be sure, given the socio-demographic mix in the Heathrow area, that we fully understand how airport development might affect different groups in terms of race, disability, age or gender."
Ms Kelly was due to make her announcement in August.
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