Ministers accused of approving Heathrow third runway 'on wing and a prayer' over pollution pledge

Ministers were today accused of giving the green light to a third runway at Heathrow on a “wing and a prayer” that it will not breach EU toxic air rules.

The Commons environmental audit committee demanded that the Government set out how another runway could be built at the west London airport without increasing the number of serious breaches of air quality limits in the capital.

The committee’s Labour chairwoman Mary Creagh said: “At the moment we can’t see how the third runway can be built and run without exceeding the legal limits on air pollution and breaching the UK’s carbon budgets.

“It’s a huge infrastructure project. It can’t be built just on a wing and a prayer and hoping that something will turn up.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan added: “The Government should abandon the expansion of Heathrow – they have failed to demonstrate how they can avoid noisier skies and even filthier air.”

Mrs Creagh also stressed that there were “no guarantees” that EU air pollution regulations will not be watered down in the longer term after Brexit.

A report commissioned by the Government suggested that a third runway may not be able to open before 2025 without risking breaching EU air pollution limits.

However, the Airports Commission has argued that Heathrow should be allowed to expand provided it did not delay London complying with EU regulations, meaning that it could go ahead as long as there was a worst air pollution hotspot in the capital.

Ministers have refused to clarify what test they will use to assess whether a bigger Heathrow is leading to breaches of toxic air rules.

But a Department for Transport spokesman said: “We take our air quality commitments extremely seriously and have been very clear that the new runway will not get the go-ahead unless air quality requirements can be met.

“Our draft airports national policy statement sets out a world-class package of compensation and mitigation measures to support local communities and limit the environmental impact of airport expansion.”

A Heathrow spokesman said: “The Airports Commission was clear that Heathrow can be expanded while reducing noise for local communities, in accordance with air quality requirements and is compatible with the Government’s carbon goals for aviation.”