Gordon Brown will give the green light to expansion at London Heathrow Airport within weeks, The Telegraph reports.
According to the newspaper, both the prime minister and his transport secretary, Geoff Hoon, believe building a third runway is essential to Britain’s economic competitiveness.
Whitehall is expected to announce the decision before the end of the year, in a move that will delight business leaders but enrage environmental campaigners.
The Conservatives are also opposed to such expansion – as are at least 38 Labour backbenchers, who have put their names to a Commons motion opposing a third runway at Heathrow.
But unnamed senior officials within the government have said dissenters will not stop the proposals. “The Tories are in the wrong place on this,” a source close to the prime minister told The Telegraph. “Airport expansion is vital to Britain’s interests and we understand that, which is why we believe Heathrow has to be expanded.”
