Heathrow expansion: Third runway ‘undeliverable’, says Boris Johnson

As the political fallout begins following the Government’s decision to give Heathrow a third runway, Boris Johnson has accused Prime Minister Theresa May of promising the “undeliverable”.

The Foreign Secretary and former Mayor of London said the multi-billion pound expansion at the UK’s busiest airport was “very likely” to be stopped, according to Sky News.

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, who was also against the new runway plans, resigned after what he called a “catastrophic” decision by the Government.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he said the “wrong” and “doomed” third runway would never go ahead.

A number of high-profile campaigners, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, have warned that legal obstacles could prevent the scheme from getting off the ground by 2025.

Commenting on the decision, Boris Johnson said: “No other great city would do this to its inhabitants.

“New York is going to be the city of beautiful skyscrapers, Paris the city of lights and London in the future, if we go ahead with this project, will be known as the city of planes.”

He continued: “A third runway is undeliverable. The day when the bulldozers appear is a long way off, if indeed they ever materialise.”

Following its decision on the £17.6bn scheme, the Government worked to soften the blow by attaching a number of conditions, including a six and a half hour ban on night flights and a £2.6bn compensation fund for locals affected.

Heathrow chief exec John Holland-Kaye has said that work on the runway will begin in 2021, with a view to opening in 2025.

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