Stop Stansted Expansion lodged papers at High Court alleging Airports Commission criteria “infected by apparent bias” due to Geoff Muirhead
The Stop Stansted Expansion group (SSE) have lodged papers at the Royal Courts of Justice alleging that the criteria being applied to decide on possible options for new runway sites in England are “infected by apparent bias”. SSE want High Court judges to order the Government-appointed Airports Commission to delay the publication of any shortlist of options until the criteria have been re-determined. They argue that there was apparent bias because Geoff Muirhead, a recently-resigned member of the Commission, had a conflict of interest. Mr Muirhead is a former chief executive of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the owners of Stansted since February. He stepped down from the Commission three weeks ago after SSE warned Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin they would take legal action if he stayed. “For almost a year, Mr Muirhead was allowed to play a pivotal role on the Commission.” The High Court is being asked to order the Commission “to re-visit certain key decisions made by the Commission during the time that Mr Muirhead was involved”..
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Stansted Airport: Campaigners say airport plans could be ‘biased’
Brian Ross, the economics advisor for Stop Stansted Expansion, with a solictor colleague outside the Royal Courts of Justice today
Campaigners have begun a new High Court action in their ongoing battle against expansion at Stansted Airport.
The Stop Stansted Expansion group (SSE) today lodged papers at the Royal Courts of Justice in London alleging that the criteria being applied to decide on possible options for new runway sites in England are “infected by apparent bias”.
SSE want High Court judges to order the Government-appointed Airports Commission to delay the publication of any shortlist of options until the criteria have been re-determined.
The group alleges there was apparent bias because Geoff Muirhead, a recently-resigned member of the Commission, had a conflict of interest.
Mr Muirhead is a former chief executive of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the owners of Stansted since February.
He stepped down from the Commission three weeks ago after SSE warned Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin they would take legal action if he stayed.
“For almost a year, Mr Muirhead was allowed to play a pivotal role on the Commission as its only commissioner with first hand knowledge and experience of the aviation industry.”
Mr Ross said it was not enough simply to remove Mr Muirhead from the Commission “at this advanced stage”.
The High Court is being asked to order the Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, “to re-visit certain key decisions made by the Commission during the time that Mr Muirhead was involved”.
The Department for Transport said Mr Muirhead had “acted properly” at the Commission but stood down to “avoid any perception of a potential conflict of interest”.
A DfT spokesman added: “Both the department and Sir Howard agree that there is no evidence whatsoever of bias and the Airports Commission is content that decisions taken to date are robust.”
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/stansted_airport_campaigners_say_airport_plans_could_be_biased_1_2881645
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Stansted: Expansion High Court Battle
14th October 2013 (Heart)
Campaigners have begun a new High Court action in their ongoing battle against expansion at Stansted Airport.
The Stop Stansted Expansion group (SSE) today lodged papers at the Royal Courts of Justice in London alleging that the criteria being applied to decide on possible options for new runway sites in England are “infected by apparent bias”.
SSE want High Court judges to order the Government-appointed Airports Commission to delay the publication of any shortlist of options until the criteria have been re-determined.
The group alleges there was apparent bias because Geoff Muirhead, a recently-resigned member of the Commission, had a conflict of interest. Mr Muirhead is a former chief executive of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the owners of Stansted since February.
He stepped down from the Commission three weeks ago after SSE warned Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin they would take legal action if he stayed.
SSE economics adviser Brian Ross said: “With proposals on the table from MAG to make Stansted the world’s busiest airport with four runways handling up to 160 million passengers a year, there is far too much at stake to allow the issue of apparent bias to go unchallenged.
“For almost a year, Mr Muirhead was allowed to play a pivotal role on the Commission as its only commissioner with first hand knowledge and experience of the aviation industry.”
Mr Ross said it was not enough simply to remove Mr Muirhead from the Commission “at this advanced stage”.
The High Court is being asked to order the Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, “to re-visit certain key decisions made by the Commission during the time that Mr Muirhead was involved”.
The Department for Transport said Mr Muirhead had “acted properly” at the Commission but stood down to “avoid any perception of a potential conflict of interest”.
A DfT spokesman added: “Both the department and Sir Howard agree that there is no evidence whatsoever of bias and the Airports Commission is content that decisions taken to date are robust.”
http://www.heart.co.uk/essex/news/local/stansted-expansion-high-court-battle
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Stop Stansted Expansion calls time on Airports Commission and DfT with High Court challenge on 14th October
October 13, 2013
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has called time on the Airports Commission and the Secretary of State for Transport and on 14th October will file a Judicial Review application to ensure fairness in determining the way forward on the issue of aviation capacity. Specifically, SSE will be asking the High Court to order the Commission to re-determine the ‘sift criteria’ (in effect the selection criteria) for assessing airport expansion options and to delay the publication of any shortlist of options until the sift criteria have been re-determined. SSE’s legal challenge is on the grounds of apparent bias and concerns the role played by Mr Geoff Muirhead, one of five commissioners appointed to the Airports Commission last year. Mr Muirhead resigned from the Airports Commission three weeks ago, after an initial intervention by SSE’s lawyers. Details will be available from 12 noon on 14th October. Brian Ross, from SSE, said: “With proposals on the table from MAG to make Stansted the world’s busiest airport with four runways handling up to 160 million passengers a year, there is far too much at stake to allow the issue of apparent bias to go unchallenged.”
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Airports Commission legal challenge necessary and appropriate say countryside campaigners
14.10.2013 (CPRE)
That was the response of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) to the announcement today that Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has applied for judicial review of the Airports Commission’s refusal to revisit its airport expansion criteria. In September the Commission had to relieve one of its members of his duties after it was revealed he was still being paid by the Manchester Airport Group (MAG) when he took up his role. MAG are the owners of Stansted airport and have submitted a proposal for three extra runways that would devastate large areas of countryside and would damage tranquillity further still.
Ralph Smyth, Senior Transport Campaigner and barrister at CPRE, said:
‘The Airports Commission cannot on the one hand accept that it was improper for one of its members to have a financial connection to an airport expansion proposal and on the other hand claim this could not have any impact whatsoever on the integrity of its decision-making.’
CPRE was a claimant in the successful judicial review against a third runway at Heathrow in 2010. With the Department for Transport viewed as close to the aviation industry, it hoped that the Airports Commission would mean much needed independent scrutiny in the case for airport expansion. However, CPRE is concerned it has not given sufficient weight to the impact of aviation growth on the character of the countryside.
Smyth continued:
‘We have become increasingly concerned that the way the Airport Commission proposes to assess airport expansion would short-change the countryside. Now that it turns out one of the Commission’s members had a financial connection with a proposal to bulldoze runways over historic countryside, there is more than just a whiff of impropriety. If the Commission is to maintain its credibility, it needs to accept that a review of its criteria is the only way forward.’
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The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) fights for a better future for the English countryside. We work locally and nationally to protect, shape and enhance a beautiful, thriving countryside for everyone to value and enjoy. Our members are united in their love for England’s landscapes and rural communities, and stand up for the countryside, so it can continue to sustain, enchant and inspire future generations. Founded in 1926, President: Sir Andrew Motion, Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk
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