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Transport secretary Geoff Hoon has backed an expansion of Stansted airport.

It is Mr Hoon's first move since Gordon Brown's Cabinet reshuffle moved him over to the Department for Transport.

The decision, which will increase the number of flights from 241,000 to 264,000 a year, has provoked anger from environmental campaigners.

BAA's attempts to build a second runway have not been accepted, however.

The Liberal Democrats expressed anger at the move, with transport spokesman Norman Baker saying the government was "in the pocket" of the aviation industry.

"This is particularly bad news for people living near Stansted, who seemingly do not count in the government's reckoning," he said.

"This is the first major decision by Geoff Hoon as transport secretary and it clearly shows that he is no friend of the environment."

The Conservatives said they would oppose the plans.

Commenting on the announcement, shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "We are concerned about a number of issues particularly as it seems to have taken less than a week for Geoff Hoon to allow BAA to start writing government aviation policy.

The Tories oppose a third runway at Heathrow as well as a second runway at Stansted.

The move will allow ten million more people to fly from Stansted each year.

"Only last week the government was advised to cut UK carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 – allowing airports to grow will make these targets almost impossible to meet," said Friends of the Earth transport campaigner Tony Bosworth.