The November 21 edition of the Financial Times noted that David Wilshire, the Tory MP whose Spelthorne constituency borders Heathrow, had a very strong opinion about the outcome of the Terminal 5 inquiry.

He said: "Hopefully, the obsessed knockers of Heathrow will now accept democracy and shut up. These self-appointed and self-opinionated few are hell bent on putting thousands of my constituents out of work and must not be allowed to succeed."

Although T5 has now been given the go-ahead, I am sure your readers will recognise there are many rational and real worries about the airport's expansion.

Many of those who voice such concerns have devoted considerable amounts of their free time to ensure that, in accordance with our democracy, those concerns are rationally articulated and are fully taken into account.

I hope that Mr Wilshire's comments are not symptomatic, in however superficial a way, of a narrow minded and introspective attitude within the Conservative Party.

If they are, his outburst may yet stand as testimony, not to Heathrow's terminal increase, but sadly to his own party's terminal decline.

G W JAMES

Granard Avenue

Putney

December 5, 2001 17:00