Johnson ‘must not wobble’ on third Heathrow runway

MPS are urging Boris Johnson not to “wobble” on Heathrow’s third runway, amid fears he could use a legal challenge to shelve the project.

Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, and other opponents of the plan are expected to learn on Thursday whether their High Court case to stop the expansion has been successful.

Some believe Mr Johnson – who once vowed to “lie down” in front of the bulldozers to stop a third runway – would be “unlikely to appeal” such a verdict. One ally said: “Everyone knows the Prime Minister has been a vocal critic of a third runway for a long time. If anything, I imagine it would be a rather tidy result for him.”

However, Crispin Blunt, a former justice minister, said there is “no question” of whether the third runway would go ahead. He said: “It’s a very important piece of infrastructure development that has been recommended by an airport commission and followed by a decision in Parliament.

“It’s overdue and it needs to happen. There is no question – the Government must not wobble.”

The legal case has been brought by a team including Mr Khan, Greenpeace and local London councils, who are appealing against a High Court ruling last May. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the plan would create noise, air pollution and traffic. He added that it also “requires too much money for Heathrow Ltd shareholders, who could sell up in protest”.

The expansion is expected to cost about £30billion, including £14billion for the first phase. John Holland-kaye, the airport’s chief executive, has stressed the need to “get on with delivering” the runway.