Activists lose legal bid to stop £27bn roads plan for England

Climate campaigners appeal against judgment saying ministers are being let off the hook'

Campaigners have lost a legal challenge to the government's 27bn roadbuilding programme after the high court dismissed their application for a judicial review.

Lawyers for Transport Action Network (TAN) argued that the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, had drawn up the roads investment strategy for England, known as RIS2, without taking into account the UK's environmental commitments or assessing the additional carbon emissions and climate impact of another 4,000 miles of road.