Rainham MP Jon Cruddas has dropped his two-year campaign against plans for a mass waste incinerator on the other side of the Thames in Bexley.

The Labour politician has been a leading voice in objection to Cory Riverside Energy's proposals for a second incinerator on their site in Belvedere.

Mr Cruddas' opposition to the Riverside Energy Park scheme centred around the impact of nitrous oxide emissions on residents in Rainham and South Hornchurch.

A petition he set up against the plans was signed 2,000 times, while he made a submission to the planning inspectorate in 2019.

In that, he said that the prevailing wind from the Belvedere site was towards Rainham, South Hornchurch and Dagenham Dock which he claimed would take a "double hit" of air pollution.

Cory's plans were given the go-ahead by business secretary Alok Sharma in April and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan abandoned a judicial review against them in September.

After ending his campaign, Mr Cruddas described the outcome as "very disappointing".

He said: “We fought tooth and nail against the government to try and stop this.

"I will continue to monitor the project through construction and operation to ensure that every necessary action is being taken to protect the health of my constituents and our environment.”

A Cory spokesperson said: “The Riverside Energy Park will be an important asset to London’s waste management infrastructure, diverting 665,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste from landfill and producing 96 megawatts of low carbon renewable electricity, the equivalent of powering around 140,000 homes.

"Transparency is going to be an important part of the construction process and we will be working with communities throughout.

"This includes an open invitation to Mr Cruddas, who is welcome to visit us and discuss the proposals in more detail.”

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy did not specifically respond to Mr Cruddas' comments and the end of his campaign when asked for comment by the Recorder.

The letter notifying Mr Sharma’s approval of the plans said he agreed with planning inspector Jonathan Green’s conclusion that the development’s air quality impact on people’s health is “acceptable”.