“my views haven’t changed” Sadiq Khan responds to Heathrow expansion plans

Transcript

00:00Yesterday, I was pleased to see in the press you said that if the government do go ahead

00:03with this, you will join, you won't hesitate to join any legal challenge with partners

00:08and colleagues. The question for the budget is, is the money available in the budget if

00:13that legal challenge needs to be mounted?

00:17So there is no money set aside in the budget based on speculation. I've seen speculation

00:23in the media about a speech the Chancellor may give in a few weeks' time. I've seen no

00:28proposals from Heathrow Airport. I've seen no plans for a new runway. I've seen no announcement

00:34from the government. What Londoners know and the government knows is the aviation sector

00:41is important for growth, jobs and prosperity, but we face a climate crisis and a climate

00:47emergency. The Climate Change Committee, well respected, set out quite clearly its recommendations,

00:54which is the only time expansion of aviation should be considered, I'm paraphrasing, is

01:00if it abides with our climate change commitments and so forth. The three big concerns that

01:07would need to be addressed if in the hypothetical case the speculation was to become a reality

01:12is could a new runway be built that abides with carbon targets, concerns around noise

01:18pollution and concerns around air pollution. Should that speculation become a reality,

01:23we'll of course consider the merits of that case, but I'm quite clear my views on the

01:27expansion of Heathrow by new runway haven't changed.

01:31It sounds like the press reported something different and this is in relation to the budget

01:34because you said to the press apparently that you wouldn't hesitate to join the legal challenge,

01:37but you then just said that you'd look at the case. That sounds like a considerable

01:41rowing back of what you said yesterday.

01:43I think if you read the press reports accurately, they were quite what I said last week, which

01:48is in the meeting we had that you and I spoke at.