Soap tycoon: Why I'm funding airport demos

THE High Street tycoon who has been funding the eco-activists behind the storming of Stansted today vowed to pay for future direct action campaigns.

Mark Constantine, the multi-millionaire founder of Lush Cosmetics, today told of his support for Plane Stupid, the group which organised yesterday's protest at Stansted that brought flights to a standstill. His company Lush, which has 600 shops in 44 countries, has made a series of donations to Plane Stupid and other anti-aviation campaigns totalling around £20,000. But Mr Constantine promised more money after the group pulled off its most daring protest yet.

Mr Constantine, 56, told the Evening Standard today: "We are very keen to support this group... We are very keen to help them to highlight these issues [of climate change] until the Government does something about it."

He pledged to pay for the legal bills of the 56 protesters arrested yesterday for the Stansted invasion.

Essex Police said 49 people were today charged with aggravated trespass with a further seven released on bail.

Mr Constantine said: "I will be supporting them as much as I possibly can. I will be funding some of their court costs. Hopefully the Government will be kind to them.

"I do find it a bit odd that environmental protesters can be suddenly treated as terrorists. Surely it is a good thing that they are encouraging everybody to think about the environment. I cannot see much wickedness in it.

"For these groups £1,000 goes a long way. From our point of view it enables them to have some sort of voice."

Mr Constantine, who owns more than half the shares in Lush, a private company with a £144million turnover last year, admitted he was "too frightened" to take part in direct action campaigns himself and praised protesters' courage.

He said he was sorry for the disruption caused to thousands of passengers, stranded during yesterday's protest. More than 50 members of Plane Stupid broke through the airport's perimeter fencing in the middle of the night, setting up a protest camp on the taxiway, preventing planes taking off or landing for two hours.

Mr Constantine said: "I don't think it should be necessary to strand passengers but on the other hand we have to stop global warming - in which case, how? At some stage you have to do something. It is a reality we all agree is happening, so what are we going to do?"

Lush makes no secret of its support for Plane Stupid and other groups. On its website, it describes Plane Stupid as "a peaceful, imaginative direct action group working to highlight aviation's contribution to climate change".

The website adds: "Plane Stupid is Britain's first national direct-action group against the climate-wrecking growth in flying. Flying is the fastest growing cause of climate change gases. The scientists say that we have to tackle this growth if we are to stop irreversible and dangerous climate change."

Lush has become a fixture on the high street since it was co-founded by Mr Constantine in 1995, its rise to prominence one of the great retail success stories of the past decade. The Sunday Times Rich List estimates Mr Constantine's wealth at £50million.