BRITAIN:Climate change activists planning protests at London's Heathrow airport have been warned by the British government that action causing disruption to passengers would be "unacceptable".
About 200 protesters have set up camp half a mile from one of the world's busiest airport runways, in anticipation of a week-long protest that will culminate in a day of "direct action" on Sunday.
Fears are growing that protesters will try to occupy parts of the airport, causing delays and endangering security.
Up to 2,000 activists are expected to occupy a site north of the airport's perimeter fence to draw attention to air travel's CO2 emissions and protest against plans to construct a third runway.
About 500 police officers have been drafted in to monitor the protesters, to be increased to about 1,800 at the weekend, when direct action at the airport is planned.
Police have warned they would "deal with" any unlawful acts, emphasising that the airport is a potentially hazardous environment. So far, there have been two arrests.
BAA said passengers and its staff should not be harassed or obstructed by direct action.
Protesters yesterday briefly boarded a barge transporting a wing for an aircraft from Broughton, north Wales - where the Airbus superjumbo factory is based - before being removed by police.
The protest comes at a sensitive time for Heathrow's operator BAA, which has been heavily criticised for the lengthy delays and inconvenience experienced by passengers at the airport.
Airlines and airports have become a new focus for environmental protesters in Britain. Airlines have argued that this is unfair, because they account for less than 5 per cent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.
A spokesperson for British prime minister Gordon Brown, yesterday backed the approach of the police. "People do have a right to protest in this country, but the government believes that action that would disrupt the running of Heathrow would be unacceptable."
However, protesters denied that they planned to disrupt aircraft taking off. "We're not going to break the perimeter [ fence] or storm runways or anything like that," said Gary Dwyer, a climate camp spokesman.
He said police had behaved "disgracefully" by blocking road access to the site, searching protesters under anti-terrorism laws and preventing water supplies being brought in. "It's absolute intimidation."
About 10 large tents have been set up to house meetings and provide cooking facilities, while electricity is provided by wind power.