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Police charge 49 Stansted protesters

11 December 2008

Essex police have charged nearly 50 people as a result of the climate change protests staged at Stansted airport yesterday.

In a brief statement, the force confirmed that 49 people had been charged with aggravated trespass, though they have now been bailed.

The move follows the arrest of 56 people who took to the runway at the airport as part of a Plane Stupid protest against the expansion of aviation.

Several flights were cancelled as a result of the protest on Monday, in which campaigners chained themselves inside a makeshift fence.

Plane Stupid said its "blockade" was intended to prevent "the release of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere" through the grounding of flights.

An Essex police spokesperson said the 49 people would appear before Harlow magistrates court at various dates in December and the new year

Budget airline Ryanair suffered numerous flight cancellations and called for operator BAA to have its hold over the UKs airports broken up.

"The security at BAA Stansted airport has once again failed. We need to know what measures the BAA is putting in place to prevent these repeated security failures," spokesperson Stephen McNamara said.

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Author: Administrator User