BAA, the airport operator, paid its security staff to protest at a public inquiry hearing into the expansion of Stansted. The Times

The staff were given paid time off from carrying out security checks at Stansted airport to support their employer’s application to increase the number of flights by 75,000 a year.

More than 40 baa staff and airport contractors attended the inquiry yesterday. It is understood that BAA encouraged staff to join the protest by suggesting that their jobs would be at risk unless the expansion was approved.