The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, has confirmed that Ministers who have a constituency interest in the national decision to be taken on airport expansion will not be involved in the Government’s response to the Davies Commission’s report.

Sir Jeremy, responding to Crispin Blunt’s letter of 30th June in which Gatwick Coordination Group MPs pressed again for a clear cut statement that the provisions on conflicts of interest in the Ministerial Code will apply to Ministers who have a constituency interest in opposing a new runway at Heathrow, assured the Gatwick Coordination Group of MPs that:

“It is right that Ministers should be able to undertake their duties as an MP, and to represent the views of their constituents. The Prime Minister is also clear, however, that decisions on the Government’s response to the Commission must follow due process, and be taken solely in the national interest. To facilitate this, the Prime Minister has decided to establish and chair a new Cabinet sub-Committee to consider these issues. This Committee will be made up of Ministers from those Departments with a direct interest in the matter (in the usual way). None of the Ministers named in your earlier letter are members.”

Crispin Blunt, reacting to the Cabinet Secretary’s response, stated: “This re-emphasises that this administration stands for transparent and good government. The Government’s decision on additional runway capacity is of national significance and will be taken in this light, not distorted by Cabinet Ministers’ well publicised constituency interests.

This puts a further nail in the coffin of GAL’s case for the additional runway to go to Gatwick. Their proposition has been substantially built on political deliverability and they have identified these five senior ministers, with constituencies close to Heathrow, who could prevent the Heathrow option being approved. Now the unanimous individual and collective view of the five commissioners that have considered this issue for over two years will be judged by an untainted Cabinet Committee, it is very difficult to see how they could possibly come to a different conclusion to that of the Airports Commission.”