Now let’s build, says Heathrow boss after MPs back new runway

HEATHROW’S boss today vowed to “get on and start building” after MPs backed the third runway by an overwhelming majority.

John Holland-Kaye said the £14 billion infrastructure project had the support it needed to be built by 2026 “on time and on budget”. He added: “We can now get on with confidence, with a strong mandate from Parliament to deliver the expanded hub airport that Britain so desperately needs, connecting all of Britain to the global markets.”

The Government-backed scheme passed the Commons last night by 415 votes to 119 — a majority of 296. But today it emerged that another minister personally opposed to Heathrow expansion staged a vanishing act during the vote to avoid being put on the spot.

Police minister Nick Hurd, MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, was not listed as voting — and although no explanation for his absence on a three-line whip was forthcoming, Downing Street seemed to turn a blind eye.

Unlike Boris Johnson, who flew to faraway Afghanistan to have an excuse for not turning up to the vote, Mr Hurd’s office offered no explanation. A Home Office spokesman refused to say if he had been on official departmental business last night, saying: “It is a question for his parliamentary office.”

However, calls to Mr Hurd’s offices at the Commons and his constituency went unanswered. The Prime Minister’s office declined to comment, despite his absence appearing to break a three-line whip on a flagship policy.

Mr Johnson arrived at Heathrow today after his whirlwind visit to Kabul. The Foreign Secretary — who had previously pledged to lie down in front of bulldozers to block a third runway — defended missing the vote rather than quitting the frontbench by saying that resigning would “achieve nothing”.

He was back for weekly Cabinet — and was taunted by cries of “will you still lie down in front of the bulldozers?” from reporters in Downing Street.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today, Mr Holland-Kaye shrugged off warnings by councils and anti-runway campaigners that they would seek to block the scheme in the courts for breaking environmental targets and inflicting noise on millions of nearby residents.

He said any judicial hearings would be heard “in parallel” with the planning process under new laws, so there would be no delay. Responding to BA boss Willie Walsh, who expressed “no confidence” in Heathrow’s ability to keep costs down, he insisted: “We have a good track record in this... we will deliver on time and on budget.”

But he refused to guarantee no rise in landing fees, which is a key airline worry. “It would be foolish to guarantee flat charges at this stage,” he said. “It is way too early.” The judicial review is being launched by Wandsworth, Richmond, Hillingdon, Hammersmith and Fulham, Greenpeace and Sadiq Khan. Eight Tory MPs rebelled in last night’s vote.