Cameron fury at 'climate change Taliban' jibe
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Independent Minds
David Cameron yesterday slapped down a senior Tory who compared climate change activists to the Taliban, as he continued his attempt to green his party, despite the recession and opposition from sceptics.
Sources close to the Conservative leader described as "inappropriate" a website entry by Roger Evans, a London Assembly member, describing anti-airport campaigners as "the climate change Taliban".
And a spokesman for Boris Johnson, London's Mayor – who once compared concern about global warming to "Stone Age religion" – added: "This is not language that the Mayor would use."
The assembly's assessment sub-committee is now determining whether the remark should be investigated by its standards board.
Ironically, "the Taliban" is also the epithet privately used by green Tories for the party's climate change sceptics.
Last Tuesday Mr Cameron again emphatically sided with the environmental wing of his party during a regular private meeting with backbench MPs. He told them that the commitment to green issues would remain at the centre of Conservative policies.
Next week he is to have a special meeting with Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who – as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – is leading scientific calls for tough action.
Environmentalists feared that the Conservatives would scale down their commitment after the sacking in January of Peter Ainsworth – one of the greenest MPs in parliament – as shadow Environment Secretary and his replacement by Nick Herbert, a founder of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance.
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Comments
Children are already play and learn at Drew Primart School under a cloud of Toxic gases 50% about EU limits.
Sound readings show that they are in substantial breach of WHO guidelines.
The airport has failed to do full and proper sound readings for the past 8 years.
The Newham Labour Council are currently fighting a by-election in the Royal Docks where the airport is based - due to the fact their Councillor died of a sever asthma attack.If this does not highlight the need for greater control I dont know what does.They have failed to get the airport to follow the Section 106 agreement.
People are living in a Public Safety Zone and are not aware of it.
The whole thing stinks - How can you have the Chief Executive of London City Airport sitting on the board of Newham Homes and Newham Healthcare Trust? People living in 'Newham Homes' around the airport are most effected.Its because he is the best friend of Robin Wales - Mayor Of Newham.
East London is fast becoming a toxic dumping ground. We also have the Heathrow Flights overhead as well as LCA.
When Boris was questioned at York Hall he said the the people supported it (wrong!) , it would create 1000 jobs (wrong!) and if we didnt like it get rid of Labour in Newham!
The people around London City Airport deserve the same Quality Of Life as the people in West London - Time to start listening Boris!
So who would want to impersonate and make such statements to try and attack a Tory candidate? A pr company perhaps - or the political party in the Royal Docks who didn't listen to the residents and is now concerned it might lose a seat?
The Tory candidate has indeed been involved in Fight the Flights - because he listened to residents concerns in the Royal Docks about their fear of airport expansion and responded to that. There's no secret there at all. Neither is there any secret that he did not agree with Boris Johnson - this was all documented by BBC London. None of that sounds like he was trying to hide it, does it?
And one last thing: The Tory candidate is not on the board of FTF and he did not organise the flash mob, and we have indeed had support from: Labour MP John Austin, Baroness Ludford, Lib Dems and Darren Johnson from the Greens.