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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| BAA wins appeal on airports sales | BAA wins appeal on airports sales |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| BAA has won its appeal against an order to sell three of the seven UK airports it runs on the grounds that the ruling panel was affected by "apparent bias". | BAA has won its appeal against an order to sell three of the seven UK airports it runs on the grounds that the ruling panel was affected by "apparent bias". |
| But the appeal tribunal rejected BAA's argument that it was being forced to sell the airports too quickly. | But the appeal tribunal rejected BAA's argument that it was being forced to sell the airports too quickly. |
| The Competition Commission had ruled in March that BAA must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports within two years. | The Competition Commission had ruled in March that BAA must sell Gatwick, Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports within two years. |
| BAA has already sold Gatwick but the judgement will not affect that sale. | |
| The Competition Commission said the judge had made the ruling with "the greatest reluctance". | |
| A spokesman for the commission added that it was reviewing the ruling and was planning on making further submissions to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. | A spokesman for the commission added that it was reviewing the ruling and was planning on making further submissions to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. |
| BAA had argued that there was a conflict of interest because of links between a member of the commission panel and an organisation interested in buying the airports. | |
| BAA said that Professor Peter Moizer should not have been on the panel as he was a long-standing fee-paid adviser to to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, which had links with Manchester Airport Group. | |
| The fund is governed by the 10 local authorities of Greater Manchester, which own all of the shares in Manchester Airport Group. |