David Cameron has attracted criticism for backtracking on previous green pledges twice this week so far, with a suggestion that his government would support further airport expansion in the South East of England, and a demonstration of a lack of understanding concerning the possible effects of the proposed planning reforms. Greenpeace flagged up a major green U-turn as Cameron signalled that his government would support new airport expansion in the South East, and heavily hinted Gatwick would be the focus of these plans.

The coalition agreement explicitly says: “We will refuse permission for additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.” But the Prime Minister said “I'm not blind to the need to increase airport capacity, particularly in the south-east. We are acting now to make the best use of existing capacity...... Gatwick is emerging as a business airport for London, under a new owner competing with Heathrow.”

This morning’s announcement comes just 48 hours after the coalition slipped out another major U-turn over the weekend, dropping any requirement that power stations become more efficient and less polluting over the next thirty years, according to senior campaigner Joss Garman from Greenpeace, who commented “The Prime Minister’s totemic U-turn this morning has no mandate. Before the election he told voters he would refuse permission for new runways at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted, now nothing’s changed except he has caved in to lobbying by the aviation industry.”

He added “Coming just 48 hours after another major green u-turn, this is fast becoming the coalition’s worst week for the environment. No wonder that a recent opinion poll showed that only 2% of the British population think this is the greenest government ever.”

But there was more - in a speech on national infrastructure to the Institute of Civil Engineering the Prime Minister made reference to highly controversial planning reforms expected to be published with the Budget on Wednesday.

Neil Sinden, Director of Policy for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), says: “The Prime Minister shows a disturbing misunderstanding of planning when he suggests that to prevent housing ‘sprawling over the countryside’ we must seek only to protect our 'Green Belts and National Parks'.

“The majority of the countryside does not enjoy any national designation or special protection. If the Government's planning reforms remain unchanged from the draft published last year, pressure for sprawling development is precisely what we can expect. Even in David Cameron’s own constituency of Witney, 55% of the countryside is undesignated and would be at increased risk of inappropriate development.

“No one is trying to stop all development. Clearly the country needs new housing and some of this is likely to be on greenfield sites. But unless the final NPPF recognises the intrinsic value of our countryside as a whole, we fear a rash of sporadic and inappropriate development across the country, disfiguring the rural landscape which is so valued by local communities. I very much hope that even at this eleventh hour the Prime Minister will stand up for the countryside as a whole, not just for our Green Belt and most special landscapes.”

And it's still only Tuesday...