Heathrow says chairman’s attack on ‘unqualified’ Zac Goldsmith was his own view

Heathrow dramatically distanced itself from its own chairman Sir Nigel Rudd today after he launched an extraordinary attack on London mayoral contender Zac Goldsmith in a bust-up over a third runway.

The airport chief accused a small number of Tory MPs in the London area, including Mr Goldsmith, of holding the rest of the country “to ransom” in opposing Heathrow expansion.

Sir Nigel also cast doubt on whether the Richmond Park MP would be a good Mayor if he beats Labour’s Sadiq Khan next May. “I fail to understand how they’ve selected Zac Goldsmith as a mayoral candidate because he has no academic achievement,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

“He was left money by his daddy, he’s never had a job other than a job given to him by his uncle, so what qualification has he got to do anything?”

Mr Goldsmith did not go to university, his father was wealthy Eurosceptic Sir James Goldsmith and before becoming an MP he edited The Ecologist magazine which was founded by his uncle.

Announcing that he will stand down as chairman in September after nine years in the post, Sir Nigel accused the Government of putting politics before the economy after David Cameron delayed a decision until at least the summer on whether to back a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick.

“Politics trumps economics,” he said. “It’s probably great politics but it’s terrible economics.”

On Heathrow’s plans for another runway, he added: “The support we have from the Scots, from Wales, from Bristol, from the West Country and Yorkshire tells you that people are desperate to have this connectivity, and we’re being held to ransom by Zac Goldsmith and a few MPs who have interests in their constituencies that they feel they’ve got to represent.”