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Boris Johnson flies to Afghanistan on day of Heathrow third runway vote

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) and Hekmat Khalil Karzai the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, during a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan: PA
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (left) and Hekmat Khalil Karzai the Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, during a meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan: PA

Boris Johnson has flown to Afghanistan on the day of the Heathrow vote, it was revealed this afternoon.

Sources disclosed the Foreign Secretary was starting a visit to Kabul, the capital, where attempts are under way to end a civil war.

The Taliban has accepted a three-day cease-fire offered recently by President Ashraf Ghani, which US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis hailed as “encouraging”.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Mr Johnson was in talks with senior government officials.

The Foreign Secretary was accused of doing a
The Foreign Secretary was accused of doing a

It comes after the Foreign Secretary defended his decision not to quit his post in order to oppose Heathrow’s third runway, saying: “My resignation would have achieved absolutely nothing.”

He said he would continue to oppose the £14 billion expansion behind closed doors by lobbying colleagues inside Government. He predicted the runway would fail to be built, sparing him the ordeal of honouring his pledge to “lie down ... In front of those bulldozers”.

Taking flight: an artist’s impression of the planned third runway at Heathrow, with proposals for satellite terminals
Taking flight: an artist’s impression of the planned third runway at Heathrow, with proposals for satellite terminals

However, he faced ridicule and criticism from all sides after he staged a "vanishing act" to avoid having to vote in the Commons — and was accused of undermining “trust in politicians”.

The Standard earlier reported that Mr Johnson had slipped out of the country last night — rumoured to be on board an RAF aircraft — on a mysterious mission to one of the world’s unsafe regions, with details being held back on “security grounds”. It enabled him to escape having to choose between quitting his ministerial position or voting with other ministers in favour of a scheme that will raise the number of flights by half.

It later emerged on Monday afternoon that he was starting a visit to Kabul, Afghanistan.

His embarrassment increased as fellow Conservative runway opponent Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, explained that he took the decision last week to resign as international trade minister because he saw Heathrow as a major issue of trust.

In extracts from his speech written for today’s debate in the Commons, Mr Hands said it was vital MPs keep their election promises: “My pledge could not have been clearer. So my resignation isn’t just about Heathrow, important though that is, it is also about trust in politics and politicians, which is a wider and more pressing imperative.”

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said: “Boris Johnson likes to call other politicians invertebrate jellies, yet his decision to flee the country rather than make good his previous promises on Heathrow shows him to be the most spineless of all. On this issue, he has proven himself utterly devoid of courage, strength, or principle. Never again should he dare to call Winston Churchill his role model.”

Twitter attack: Greg Hands, who quit over Heathrow, takes aim at Mr Johnson (Getty Images)
Twitter attack: Greg Hands, who quit over Heathrow, takes aim at Mr Johnson (Getty Images)

Tory backbencher Sarah Wollaston said Mr Johnson’s going abroad “won’t wash” and called on him to make a “principled decision” to stand down. Former Conservative whip Stephen Crabb told Radio 4’s Westminster Hour that Mr Johnson would “need to look his constituents in the eye and explain where he was on the night of the Heathrow vote”.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he had “no idea” where the Foreign Secretary would be when MPs vote. “I have no idea where Boris is, genuinely no idea where Boris is,” he told Radio 4’s Today.

Mr Johnson’s deputy, Sir Alan Duncan, was travelling to Luxembourg for a meeting of foreign ministers but said he would be back in time to take part in the vote: “I was always down to go to this council. I’m not standing in for Boris. I will be back at six-ish and I will vote for the expansion of Heathrow.”

Downing Street confirmed the vote is being whipped, meaning ministers must back the government-endorsed runway or resign their posts. However, Mrs May has allowed ministers with long-held views to express them locally. Mr Johnson took up that right, writing a letter to councillors in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency which has been obtained by the Standard. He wrote: “I have long been an opponent of a third runway at Heathrow and that is why I am not voting for it tonight.

“I have made clear my opposition since joining the Government, and I will continue to lobby colleagues from within government. Some of my critics have suggested that I should resign over the issue. No doubt they have my best interests at heart.

“But it is clear from what is likely to be a large majority of MPs who are in favour of a third runway that my resignation would have achieved absolutely nothing.

“Hillingdon council have been emphatic that they would rather have me in the cabinet and fighting for their cause on this and other issues.

“On election night I promised with John McDonnell, the Labour MP, to lie in front of the bulldozers. In view of the very considerable difficulties that still face the third runway — its cost and the appalling air and noise pollution entailed by the project — I believe it will be a very long time before we have to make good on that pledge; if indeed a 3rd runway ever comes about.”

In his speech after being elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, he had pledged to physically block the construction. He said: “I will lie down with you in front of those bulldozers and stop the building, stop the construction of that third runway.”

Labour’s Jess Phillips said Mr Johnson was being “pathetic”. She added: “This is the shit that makes people hate politicians. Boris has learned that he gets applause saying the easy stuff — he’d get respect if he said the hard stuff.” Labour was split in London but a majority of Labour MPs outside the capital looked set to side with Unite leader Len McCluskey and support the third runway, rather than back leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor Mr McDonnell who urged a vote against. Ilford North Labour MP Wes Streeting said he would vote for expansion “to protect jobs and support our economy”.

But shadow Brexit spokesman Matthew Pennycook, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, said: “The project is expensive, risky, and the financing still doesn’t add up.”

Tory runway opponents Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith wrote in a joint article on ConservativeHome: “MPs need to look at the detail before they vote for an airport expansion which their communities will see as a mistake in the years to come. They owe them that.”

Campaigners against a third runway today published an analysis of figures, from the Department for Transport, showing many regional airports would have fewer flights if a third runway is built than under current growth predictions.

The No 3rd Runway Coalition compared the number of predicted air traffic movements per year by 2030 up to 2050 with and without Heathrow expansion. It found that Manchester is set to have 20,258 fewer flights per year by 2030 with a third runway, or 27,063 by 2050.

Paul McGuinness, chairman of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, said: “Seventeen million of the 43 million extra passengers projected to pass through an expanded Heathrow’s lucrative shopping malls will be at the expense of regional airports.”