Richmond Council leader Lord True has laughed off Heathrow’s suggestion there is support for the airport’s expansion in neighbouring boroughs as “nothing more than PR spin.”

The airport claimed this week that the majority of residents living in the 12 neighbouring constituencies support expansion according to a new poll.

Back Heathrow campaign director Rob Gray said: “It’s not surprising that most people living in the communities near Heathrow support expansion when you consider all the jobs, investment, apprenticeships and other benefits that will come from building a new runway at the UK’s only hub airport.”

He added: “These poll results reflect the important work Heathrow has carried out over the last few months to engage with local residents. The commitment to meet or exceed the environmental conditions set by the Airports Commission means that people living nearby can feel confident that Heathrow can be bigger and better.”

However, the leader of Richmond Council, Lord True, has said the release and its headline are completely misleading.

Referring to the breakdown of boroughs, which show that only 34 percent in the Richmond constituency and 38 percent in Twickenham said that they favoured an additional runway, he said: “Despite Bigger Heathrow’s suspect use of ‘facts’, the polling shows that the majority of both Richmond and Twickenham residents are actually against expansion at Heathrow.”

As well as Lord True’s comments, the proposed expansion faces further campaign opposition this week.

The campaign group HACAN have planned a protest at Ravenscourt Park in Hammersmith on Thursday August 18 in the form of a ‘Noise Olympics’.

HACAN chairman John Stewart said: “Heathrow is the overwhelming favourite to win [the Noise Olympics]. Its planes fly over at least 725,000 people.”

He added: “That is three times second place Frankfurt. And 60 times more than Gatwick who has just been asked to join the race because it is a candidate for expansion.”

Gatwick’s expansion, meanwhile, has received the support of 63 percent of London councillors, compared to the 44 percent support for Heathrow according to a You Gov poll published Tuesday August 16.

The polls come after leaders of 11 London councils wrote to Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to expand Gatwick, with 50 percent of councillors saying that the certainty a runway scheme can be delivered has become more important since Brexit.

Gatwick chief executive Stewart Wingate said: “Crucially Gatwick expansion is the only plan that can actually be delivered and – unlike Heathrow – it does not need £5 billion of taxpayer funding.”