transport

Who'd have thought it? © Greenpeace/Will Rose

Update (12:40): Watch the video

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Seizing the rare opportunity to welcome some good news, Greenpeace climbers scaled the front of St Pancras station this morning and hung a huge banner proclaiming 'YES' in 3-metre-high letters to show support for the new high-speed rail link to Europe, which finally got under way today with a jaunt to Paris and back for selected journalists and politicians - including PM Gordon Brown.

Money isn't everything © Gavin Austin

The climate camp's 24 hours of action has drawn to a close and it's been a rare old time with protests springing up all over the country, not just around Heathrow. When I left the camp last night, a large group of people were camped outside BAA's offices near the airport and thanks to Indymedia's rather excellent Twittering, my mobile has continued to deliver updates about what was going on.

According to the update board in the climate camp info tent, the various groups of protesters have had various degrees of success, not least a troupe of clowns. They're among the campers who have made it to the BAA offices at Heathrow, although apparently they've been penned in by police. Other teams have also made it, despite a heavy police presence, and 250 are currently coralled behind the BAA building. Others remain at large. Elsewhere, a group have been in Sipson village marking out where the planned third runway will be.

Right now, a group of two hundred or so climate campers are marching across a field on their way to Heathrow in an attempt to blockade the BAA offices. Needless to say, huge numbers of police - some in riot gear - are in their way.

Despite changing a misleading title on my previous post (which seemed accurate on the scant information available earlier this morning), I'm now beginning to think even 'BAA wins its case' is a bit too strong. Sure, they managed to get something out of their High Court injunction but it's a far cry from what they applied for.

The hearing on BAA's Heathrow injunction began today and, so far, it mostly seems to have involved debate about whom BAA did and didn't intend to injunct.

From PA (snipped for length):

This from the BBC News website about the judgment against Ryanair by the Advertising Standards Authority:

 

Ryanair has been ordered not to repeat an advertisement that played down the impact of aviation on the environment.

In a press campaign the airline claimed the airline industry "accounts for just 2% of carbon dioxide emissions".

UPDATE (9.25am): The booths have now all been moved by security.

Over the past hour or so, impromptu ticket exchange booths have been appearing in airports across the UK.

Greenpeace volunteers (fetchingly dressed as stewards and stewardesses - pics here) have been offering BA passengers checking into domestic flights climate-friendly train tickets.