Deep divisions over airport expansion opened up among London MPs today as bosses of Heathrow and Gatwick were quizzed in the Commons about their runway plans.
Eight Labour MPs from the capital wrote to Theresa May urging a go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow, saying Britain was “destined to fall behind” unless it built up its hub airport.
They broke ranks ahead of a special meeting of the cross-party London Group of MPs, which includes several prominent pro-Gatwick politicians.
Meanwhile, the Conservative leader of Wandsworth council, Ravi Govindia, claimed that any go-ahead for Heathrow would “unravel” in the courts.
Mrs May’s own local council, Windsor and Maidenhead, said it would vote on Thursday to spend £50,000 on a joint legal action and publicity campaign against a third runway alongside Richmond, Wandsworth, and Hillingdon.
The issue will come to a head in the next week when Mrs May chairs a Cab-inet committee to decide whether to approve expansion at Heathrow or Gatwick. For the first time, the London Group of MPs was meeting to quiz Gat-wick boss Stewart Wingate, Heathrow strategy director Emma Gilthorpe, and Heathrow Hub founder Jock Lowe.
The group’s chairman, Bromley and Chislehurst Tory MP Bob Neill — who has publicly backed Gatwick — said the meeting would “ensure London MPs are informed about the impacts and advantages for the city”.
The eight Labour MPs who wrote to Mrs May backing Heathrow include former mayoral hopeful David Lammy and ex-ministers Jim Fitzpatrick and Stephen Timms.
