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PM branded 'gutless' after delaying Heathrow decision

David Cameron has been accused of being "gutless" after a final decision on a third runway at Heathrow was delayed until at least next summer.

The government said yesterday that it had postponed the decision until a more detailed analysis on the environmental impact of expansion could take place.

While environmental groups and local campaigners welcomed the announcement, business leaders reacted with fury.

ITV News Business Editor Joel Hills said Gatwick - which has "less of a pollution problem and fewer local residents to upset" - "is back in the race".

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Green campaigners urge ministers to scrap airport plans

Environmental campaigners have welcomed a government delay on a key airport expansion decision - and urged ministers to consider scrapping the plans altogether.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said the government was right to consider the impact of aviation on the environment - but said he was "disappointed" alternatives had not been considered.

We are disappointed that [the government] has accepted the case in principle for a new runway without looking at alternatives, including a frequent flyer levy that would avoid the need for expansion at all.

The cost of sufficiently improving surface access to avoid unacceptable congestion and pollution would be so high as to make airport expansion unaffordable.

If the government were truly serious about emissions and noise, it would abandon these plans for a new runway in the South East.

– Stephen Joseph, Campaign for Better Transport
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PM branded 'gutless' after delaying Heathrow decision

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