But Commons transport committee chairwoman Ruth Cadbury, the Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth in west London, referred to a seven-year-old Department for Transport policy statement which warned of a “displacement of passengers from regional airports to the London system” if Heathrow was to expand.
The ANPS (Airport National Policy Statement) in 2018 made the expectations that connections from Heathrow to regional airports would increase if Heathrow were to expand, increasing productivity in those regions as well.”.
The minister replied: “When I was deputy mayor for transport in London, I was speaking in that capacity at that time, reflecting the views of the mayor of London (Sir Sadiq Khan) and City Hall on a previous Heathrow expansion scheme.
Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Paul Kohler asked Ms Alexander why she had “changed her mind” on airport expansion, based on comments she previously made while she was deputy mayor for transport in London.
Turning to the future project, Conservative shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon asked ministers to confirm that “full cost of a third runway including related works like relocating, tunnelling or bridging over the M25 will be fully funded by the private sector and not by the taxpayer”.
