Campaign groups opposing expansion at Heathrow have slammed comments made by the airport's boss yesterday.

Colin Matthews announced that BAA will bring in a watchdog to ensure air and noise quality limits are not breached with a third runway.

Groups HACAN and the No Third Runway Action Group (NoTRAG) have said people will be gearing up for “another broken promise” from the operator.

They say residents know better and that since 2002 the aviation industry and the government have been working towards a third runway at Heathrow.

They believe current EU pollution limits cannot be met and that the limits coming into effect in 2010 will be more stringent.

Mr Matthews highlighted yesterday that the pollution limits will not be breached, after a number or protests and campaigns against this.

Christine Shilling, press secretary at NoTRAG, said: “We have news for Colin Matthews and this government.

“You have lost all credibility. A third runway at Heathrow will devastate communities, exceed pollution criteria and subject 150,000 other west Londoners to excessive unendurable noise.”

Geraldine Nicholson, chairman of the group, said: “BAA has a history of broken promises. Listening to Colin Matthews this morning he was not cleat what promises had been made by his predecessors.

“In that case, we can have no confidence that Mr Mathhew's successors in the future will remember what he said yesterday, this is just another promise set to be broken.”

She added: “Matthews also kept saying it was a question of trust. How right he is, it is about trust and quite frankly we don't trust anything BAA says.

“It's a nice try to suppress the public support we are getting but BAA must realise now that the public no longer believes them.”

John Stewart, chairman of HACAN, said: “This is clearly a sign of a desperate organisation.

“The economic case is unconvincing and the environmental case is overwhelming.

“BAA knows this and is now struggling to find a way to keep its expansion plans afloat.”