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Heathrow

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said that he was well aware that the topic of Heathrow would arouse strong opinions in today’s debate, and clearly he was not wrong. Heathrow plays a key role in the country’s economy, as was made clear in the 2003 White Paper and in the Eddington study, and its importance has been reinforced again today. The economic arguments demonstrate that the capacity of the airport requires the level of attention and scrutiny that is rightly being given to the issue in this debate, and in the many steps that have brought us to this point. I acknowledge that a number of contributions have challenged the Government’s economic case, and I shall return to that. However, it is our stated position that Heathrow is vital, as the UK’s only hub airport, not only to the economy of London or of the south-east alone, but to the country as a whole. Aviation in the UK delivers £11 billion of economic benefits, employing 200,000 people directly; Heathrow employs 100,000 directly and indirectly. With regard to Heathrow, we must consider the serious questions of environmental impact. It is right that any decision we make on Heathrow must take into account all our responsibilities as a Government, including those we owe to the environment and to the people who live and work around the airport.