Benn is right to raise fears over Heathrow says Mayor

BORIS JOHNSON today praised Cabinet minister Hilary Benn for raising concerns over a third runway at Heathrow.

The Mayor said the "tremendous good sense" of the Environment Secretary should serve as a warning for his colleagues that the airport must not be allowed to expand if it breaches new EU pollution laws.

Mr Johnson also undermined David Cameron's plan for tackling Britain's long-distance transport needs by arguing that a new high-speed rail link, as proposed by the Conservatives, was "not enough on its own".

The Mayor stressed that a third runway would mean planes flying over Harrow, Camden, Islington, Enfield - all areas with Labour MPs.

"In other words...hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Londoners stand to be affected in a way that the builders of Heathrow never imagined, while the auditory sufferings of west London will be intensified," he said.

"We can all surely agree that it makes little sense to entrench a colossal planning error of the Forties by expanding Heathrow in a way that will have all sorts of damaging impacts on the capital and the lives of its citizens." If a third runway is given the go-ahead the number of flights will increase from 480,000 a year to 700,000, he added.