A high court judge yesterday ruled that the government's public consultation over airport expansion was "irrational and unfair".

Local authorities in Kent and Essex had challenged the government over its failure to include Gatwick in a list of options for expansion.

Ministers had said that a legal agreement signed by BAA and West Sussex county council in 1979 barred a new runway at Gatwick before 2019.

The Department for Transport said that it would "examine carefully what the judge has said" with a view to a possible appeal.