I welcome the discussion, brought forward by the European Commission, to investigate false advertising by airlines, notably (but not only!) “low cost” airlines.

The EC has recognised that many airlines advertise flights at extremely low prices, when in fact the actual price paid is much more expensive.

I’ve just done a quick search on the internet for a flight between Leeds/Bradford and Plymouth – having been attracted by initial offers of around £8 each way. As it turns out, once they have added the hidden costs of various taxes and surcharges, the round trip was almost £90, that’s almost 6 times the price of the initial offer!

One common wheeze is to add to your bill a fee for paying by credit card or debit card – the only two ways you can pay when buying online!

It is absolutely right that the consumer should be protected from these practices and I will support proportionate legislation put forward to that end.