Shadow chancellor calls for charges against Heathrow activists to be dropped

John McDonnell adds support to letter sent to Crown Prosecution Service, while all five mayoral candidates plan third runway protest outside Parliament

The shadow chancellor John McDonnell, lawyers and environmentalists campaigning to prevent a new runway at Heathrow have written to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), asking them to drop charges of aggravated trespass against 13 activists for a protest at the airport.

The actions of the protesters, which prevented a number of planes taking off, were "reasonable, justifiable and honourable", according to the letter. "We should be congratulating them for defending the planet, not prosecuting them," it says.