Heathrow operator BAA won a partial High Court victory today in its quest to impede an environmental protest at the airport, but the ruling was nothing like as wide-ranging as the company had hoped.

Mrs Justice Swift conceded that an injunction was needed to prevent the potentially “serious and damaging” consequences of the anti-climate change protest, but ensured that peaceful protesters would be able to demonstrate at the airport.

The judge dismissed BAA’s suggestion that up to five million members of groups including the National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds should be included in the injunction. Instead, only the group Plane Stupid was named in the court order.

The number of groups requested by BAA has been slashed by the judge, as has the geographical scope of the injunction, which could have covered the London Underground and motorway approaches to the airport.

John Stewart, one of the leading campaigners, claimed victory for the protest groups who say the Camp for Climate Action will go ahead.

“BAA had asked for the mother of all injunctions. They have received the mother of all setbacks,” said Mr Stewart, the chairman of Heathrow airport anti-noise group Hacan and also chairman of the umbrella body AirportWatch.

The court case has created a wave of publicity, as some groups accused BAA of taking a heavy-handed approach to the protest camp that will be held at Heathrow between August 14 and 21.

The company’s application named Plane Stupid, Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, Airportwatch and No Third Runway as the organisations to be included in the injunction.

Airportwatch is an umbrella organisation supported by groups with five million members, including the National Trust, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

The judge opened the hearing by declaring her own interest in the case. She is an active member of the RSPB, a benefactor of the National Trust and a member of the CPRE. BAA's solicitor said he had no objection to her hearing the case.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, accused BAA bosses of being "out of their skull" by effectively inciting radical protesters to join the otherwise peaceful camp.

The judge accepted that there was a risk that “a terrorist group may use the disruption caused by the protesters to perpetrate a terrorist act”.

But concluded that a relatively lenient injunction would suffice: “I am satisfied that the terms of this injunction are no wider than necessary to provide proper and effective protection to the claimants.”

As well as limiting the terms of the injunction, the judge ordered BAA to pay the costs incurred by the protest groups at the hearing.

Mrs Justice Swift also awarded costs to be paid by BAA to Transport for London and London Underground. The organisations attended proceedings after finding out that the airport authority had planned to make Underground stations part of the injunction, without informing them. The judge said it was “extraordinary” that they had not been consulted.

BAA denied that it had attempted to prevent millions of people using the roads and public transport around Europe’s busiest airport.

Tim Lawson-Cruttenden, BAA's solicitor said: "We are only injuncting those who wish to act unlawfully. There is nothing to stop anyone from coming to the airport if they wish to act lawfully."

The members of Plane Stupid and three named protesters will be arrested for contempt of court if the authorities believe they are about to breach the court order issued today.

Joss Garman and Leo Murray, both of Plane Stupid and Mr Stewart, the three protest leaders in the injunction, had already agreed with BAA that they would not breach any of the conditions, which have now been set out in the court order.

Anyone who breaks the injunction, or helps any of the defendants to breach its terms, faces action for contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized.

Protesters from Plane Stupid are banned from preventing anyone coming or going from the airport or “disrupting the operation of Heathrow Airport”.

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