Nasheed joins Heathrow runway protest

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed - who is living in self-imposed exile in UK – has joined the protest against the UK government’s decision to back expansion of Heathrow airport with a third runway.

UK media reports Nasheed joined the protest at M4 spur road on Saturday and addressed the protesters.

Nasheed tweeted on Friday that he was going to speak about need for a low carbon strategy at the protest.

Richmond MP Zac Goldsmith – who resigned from the parliament after UK cabinet passed the expansion plans and impressionist Alistair McGowan also attended the protest.

UK cabinet passed the decision on October 25.

Saturday’s protest saw 15 arrests after the protestors laid down on the road, resulting in disruption to the traffic.

Protesters say that the decision to build a third runway in the airport will result in a negative environmental impact as aviation already makes up 6 percent of UK’s CO2 emissions.