Rumours of bribery and corruption being the reason behind Spelthorne's decision to pull out of an anti-Heathrow expansion group were shot down as quickly as they surfaced this week.

Spelthorne Council leader John Packman confirmed the local authority intended to leave the 2M group, an alliance of 12 councils representing two million people affected by the airport's expansion.

But he said it was because it disagreed with the basis of 2M's argument and not because it had been offered a number of mobility buses.

Following last week's public meeting, which saw 200 people pack Staines Methodist Church to speak out against airport expansion, a source told the Staines Guardian the council had been offered buses by Heathrow owners BAA in return for the council's withdrawal from 2M.

Coun Packman strongly denied this was the reason and hit out at the rumourmongers.

He said: "Words really fail me. I'm absolutely flabbergasted that someone could even say that or even put it into print. There is no truth in that rumour whatsoever.

"We will in due course be resigning from 2M because we do not accept their argument.

"It's simply a protest group against Heathrow. They are not putting forward any new argument."

2M believes the Government and the aviation industry consistently overstate the economic benefits of flying and fail to measure the full environmental costs, and thinks it should commission an independent cost-benefit analysis for all expansion proposals.

It also argues it is not right to allow the doubling of carbon emissions from domestic aviation by 2050 while expecting other sectors to reduce theirs.

Conservative county councillor for Laleham and Shepperton Laurie Burrell believes the borough council should not pull out of 2M.

He said: "I cannot stand by and see the Sipson community destroyed, resulting in the loss of 700 houses, which is the allocation for Spelthorne.

"I feel for the community. What would the views be of county members if the runway was positioned on the south side of Heathrow?

"My view is that people's properties are blighted - they'll have difficulty selling their homes."

The council's position on Heathrow will be discussed at a full council meeting on February 21.

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