Ministers with seats near Heathrow are barred from airport talks

CABINET opponents of Heathrow’s expansion have been locked out of a crucial committee on the future of airports by David Cameron, fuelling suspicions of a ‘stitch-up’.

The Prime Minister will personally take charge of a new Cabinet sub-committee to examine whether to back an extra runway at Heathrow, Gatwick or other options.

But the new committee will not include senior ministers who have opposed expanding Heathrow or any MPs who represent London constituencies.

Its creation suggests that the final recommendation may not require the backing of the whole Cabinet.

Opponents who have constituencies near the flight path of the West London airport include Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, the, Home Secretary Theresa May (pictured), International Development Secretary Justine Greening and Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers.

John Stewart, from anti-Heathrow expansion group HACAN, said: ‘It certainly looks like a stitch-up. It could be Cameron is going for a solution he believes will work in the short term but could backfire because some of the Cabinet ministers who are against a third runway feel so strongly it could be a resigning issue.’

Zac Goldsmith, the Tories’ leading candidate for London mayor, said: ‘If the Prime Minister has no confidence in his home secretary and foreign secretary to make a decision in the national interest, then surely he should fire them both immediately.’

Mr Goldsmith, who has threatened to quit his Richmond Park seat near Heathrow if a third runway gets the green light, added: ‘This will give people even more reason to believe that the decision is being rigged in favour of the Heathrow lobbyists.’

The Cabinet Office slipped out the committee membership as MPs prepared to begin their summer break from Parliament. The Economic Affairs (Airports) sub-committee includes supporters of Heathrow expansion such as Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Sajid Javid.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The Conservative Party was elected to take difficult decisions in the long-term economic interests of the country. Long-term decisions don’t get much bigger than the third runway.’

A senior No 10 source said a decision would be made by the end of the year.