The Government's decision not to build another runway at Gatwick airport was today branded "unfair and unlawful".

The consultation process, which will help decide the future of the UK's major airports in the South-East, was criticised in the High Court.

Authorities and residents who fear their lives will be blighted by expansion of Stansted airport in Essex and plans for a major new airport at Cliffe on the shores of the Thames Estuary in Kent asked a judge to quash the consultation paper because it fails to consider expansion at Gatwick.

John Steel QC, appearing for Kent County Council and Medway Council, told the court the reasons for leaving out Gatwick were "bad in law".

In a courtroom packed with protesters, he added: "The court can and should intervene - and the decision of the Secretary of State to exclude Gatwick from further consideration for expansion should be quashed."

In particular, Mr Steel strongly criticised on safety grounds the decision to include Cliffe in the consultation exercise as the site for a potential new airport.

He told Mr Justice Maurice Kay: "The importance of the decision-making process not only being fair but being seen to be fair and reasonable cannot be overstated in this case.

"It potentially affects literally millions of people in the South-East, thousands of residential homes and workplaces, thousands of hectares of virgin countryside and other land."

The case continues.