Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander opposed third runway at Heathrow which Rachel Reeves appears to now back

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has opposed a third runway at Heathrow, The London Standard can reveal.

She made clear she was against expanding the west London airport when she was the city’s deputy mayor for transport.

Another runway could see the number of annual flights at Heathrow jump from 480,000 to more than 700,000 with the impact on climate change, noise blighting London communities and air pollution.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves appears to be keen to push through a third runway in her dash for economic growth.

But Ms Alexander is the eighth Cabinet minister who has opposed another runway at Heathrow, as has Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.