HERTFORDSHIRE MP Mark Prisk has today backed The Evening Star campaign against the expansion or Stansted Airport.Mr Prisk, Tory MP for Hertford and Stortford, was one of the region's MPs who received copies of The Evening Star which called for Stansted's capacity to be capped at its present level of 25 million passengers a year.

HERTFORDSHIRE MP Mark Prisk has today backed The Evening Star campaign against the expansion or Stansted Airport.

Mr Prisk, Tory MP for Hertford and Stortford, was one of the region's MPs who received copies of The Evening Star which called for Stansted's capacity to be capped at its present level of 25 million passengers a year.

He replied to the Star, saying: “For those of us nearer to the airport, the prospect of a second runway and up to 75 million passengers per annum has been truly unacceptable.

“I am delighted the Evening Star is campaigning against the BAA's plans and the noise and pollution that they will cause.”

The Conservative Party has adopted a policy of opposition to the expansion of Stansted and Suffolk MPs John Gummer and Tim Yeo are in the forefront of the opposition.

Former environment secretary Mr Gummer has urged the government to look at ways of taxing flights and using that money to invest in other means of transport, particularly the rail network, to make it easier for people to travel around Europe without taking to the skies.

South Suffolk MP Mr Yeo, who was Conservative environment spokesman before the last general election, has warned that the demand for low-cost flights could fall dramatically if new green taxes are introduced.

He said that could leave Stansted airport as a white elephant with not enough passengers wanting to use it once the cheap aviation bubble had burst.