Sir Keir Starmer’s government will try to press ahead with plans for a third runway at Heathrow, Boris Johnson is warning.
The Former Prime Minister believes, however, that a fresh attempt to expand the west London airport will fail.
Gordon Brown’s government backed a third runway in 2009.
But the plan was thwarted by David Cameron coming out firmly against it ahead of the 2010 election.
He vowed to oppose it “no ifs, not buts”.
Mr Cameron’s government later set up the Airports Commission in September 2012 to examine where to expand airports in the UK.
Mr Johnson, who as Mayor of London vowed to “lie down in front of those bulldozers” to stop a third runway, claimed in his memoirs Unleashed that the Commission was created so the government could “execute a graceful U-turn”.
In 2015, the commission recommended a third runway be built at Heathrow airport, rejecting Mr Johnson’s proposals for a huge new airport in the Thames Estuary.
He still believes it will happen one day.
The Tory government gave the go-ahead in June 2018 for another runway at the west London airport.
Mr Johnson travelled to Afghanistan, missing the vote to approve a new £14 billion runway.
The development was delayed by legal battles and then the Covid pandemic which saw passenger numbers plummet.
But they have now rebounded and Heathrow is so full that a third runway is believed to be increasingly back on the agenda.
“I expect that Labour will have another crack at the third runway at Heathrow,” Mr Johnson, who was MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, says in his book.
“I doubt they will succeed.
“There is only one place with the potential to be a truly environmentally friendly long-term hub for the UK - and that is in the estuary.”
Downing Street said in July that the Government is not opposed to Heathrow building a third runway if it meets four clear tests including on being consistent with Britain’s climate change obligations, supporting economic growth across the country, noise pollution, and on air pollution.
In an interview with The Standard shortly before the July 4 general election, now Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she had “nothing against expanding airport capacity” but stressed factors such as the environment needed to be considered.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has stressed that a third runway at Heathrow would “crucially” have to meet the UK’s climate change commitments.
Heathrow has said that it is “looking at how to unlock more short-term growth by making the current infrastructure as efficient as possible” and also “actively reviewing our plans for longer-term growth as well”.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We are committed to securing the long-term future of the UK’s aviation sector.
“However, all expansion proposals must demonstrate they contribute to economic growth, while remaining in line with existing environmental obligations.”
In his book, Mr Johnson also told how he decided to run for London Mayor after almost being “minced” by a bendy bus in High Holborn, considered as PM a raid into Holland to seize Covid vaccines amid a row over them, and sought to discourage Prince Harry from leaving his royal life in the UK.
* Boris Johnson Unleashed is published on Thursday October 10 by HarperCollins.
