Mandelson Revelations Increase Pressure on Government over Third Runway

The revelations this weekend (1) about the close relationship between the Trade Secretary Peter Mandelson and Roland Rudd, the man who heads up Finsbury Ltd, the PR firm which represents BAA, have raised further questions about the part BAA played in persuading the Government to give the green light to a third runway at Heathrow.

It emerged that Mr Rudd or his company met with ministers at least five times in ten days in the run-up to Labour’s unpopular decision to go ahead with plans for a third runway, and once a few months earlier.

The timetable of events was:

• October 17 last year: Lord Mandelson holds meeting with Roland Rudd, whose PR firm Finsbury represents airport operator BAA.

• December 4: Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon postpones decision on building third runway at Heathrow until January.

• December 8: Rudd, representing Business for New Europe, and Business Minister Shriti Vadera attend the Global Europe Business Summit.

• December 10: Rudd attends breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson.

• December 12: Representative of Finsbury meets Transport Minister Lord Adonis.

• December 16: Representative of Finsbury meets Lord Adonis again.

• December 17: Rudd attends a second breakfast meeting with Lord Mandelson.

• January 15 2009: Government sparks uproar by dismissing fierce opposition by approving Heathrow expansion.

Peter Mandelson and Roland Rudd are old friends. Mandelson is godfather to his son. They both have been entertained on his yacht by the Russian billionaire, Oleg Deripaska – who is a client of Finsbury through Basic Elements, the holding group for his investments.

Roland Rudd also knows the Rail Minister Lord Adonis. They were colleagues together at the Financial Times.

Last year the Department of Transport was accused of colluding with BAA to ‘fix’ the consultation on Heathrow expansion. Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Conservative MP Justine Greening revealed the way the two organisations working on altering the data to indicate that a third runway would produce lower levels of air pollution than the Department had earlier predicted.

Geraldine Nicholson, the Chair of NoTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group), said, “Nothing surprises us any more. But it does disgust us the way the Government was prepared to hobnob with BAA while refusing point blank to meet with the people whose community would be destroyed.”

HACAN Chair said, “The Government is imploding over the third runway. Reasoned argument has gone out the window. Each revelation makes it less likely that the new runway will ever be built.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

(1). The story broke in the Daily Mail on Saturday – Mandelson in new ‘favours’ row. The minister, his PR pal and six meetings before Heathrow go-ahead.

For more information contact:

John Stewart on 0207 737 6641

Geraldine Nicholson on 01895 854519 or 07710523369