The Green Party says the disruption to Stansted Airport following the protest by Plane Stupid this morning was a direct consequence of the Government's inconsistent policies on tackling climate change.
Leader of the Green Party, Dr Caroline Lucas MEP said the event had highlighted the important role that peaceful direct action can play in exerting pressure on the government and raising awareness of the urgent need to establish effective climate policy.
Dr Lucas commented:
"As long as the government continues to peddle its hypocritical rhetoric on reducing greenhouse gases, then ploughs ahead with plans to expand Stansted and other UK airports, we will see more protests like the one today.
"Although the inconvenience experienced by travellers using Stansted Airport was unfortunate, the peaceful protest demonstrated more clearly than any strongly worded letter the level of frustration and anger at the proposals to expand aviation, and the government's shirking of its environmental responsibilities."
Last week, the South East MEP, who is also the shadow rapporteur for the emissions trading scheme (ETS) - which now includes emissions from aviation -took part in the latest round of talks on EU climate change law.
She criticised European Council proposals, which would lead to the watering down of the ETS, a scheme supposedly designed to reduce the EU's total annual carbon emissions.
She said: "It is appalling that as the global climate talks continue in Poznan, EU leaders seem to be getting cold feet on their own climate change commitments - at just the critical moment when the world needs to see decisive action.
"Although Green efforts to include aviation in the scheme were successful, the terms of that inclusion are incredibly weak and, in proposing heavily diluted amendments to the ETS, the EU has sent a message to the world that it is unwilling to commit to tough and binding legislation.
Dr Lucas concluded: "As long as national and international political inaction on climate change persists, peaceful direct action will and should continue."