The dispute over the proposed third runway at Heathrow erupted again yesterday as 13 top business leaders came out in opposition to the plan. Justin King, chief executive of J Sainsbury, Charles Dunstone, of Carphone Warehouse, and Sir Roy Gardner, chairman of Compass, argued, in a letter to The Times, that the case for the third runway did "not stack up".

Opposition to the runway threatens to embarrass the Government and BAA, as both have consistently claimed the support of the business community. The Government says that a third runway will boost economic growth and is necessary to maintain Britain's standing as a financial centre.

The opposing signatories, who also include Ian Cheshire, chief executive of Kingfisher, and Jon Moulton, founder of Alchemy Partners, the private equity group, write: "To say that all those from the business community support the third runway is wrong."

The letter argues that the benefit to business of a third runway is unproven, because it carries no guarantee of extra international destinations or domestic connections. It adds that alternatives have not been fully explored and that the impact on the environment is too great to ignore.

Theresa Villiers, Shadow Transport Secretary, said: "Labour's misleading claim that all business backs a third runway has been blown out of the water. These are serious and very senior figures in the business world and they are telling Gordon Brown he has got it wrong on Heathrow."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "This new runway will help to secure jobs now and in the future and ensure that Britain remains a place where the world can come to do business. Our analysis shows that a third runway would provide net economic benefits of around £5 billion."

BAA said: , and develop the new links we will need, especially to India and China."

The TUC, the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce lead the business campaign for a third runway.

Read the full article in The Times.


BAA's response was: "We need a third runway to preserve the direct connections that make our companies globally successful".

You can take that as: "We need a third runway to increase our capacity in an attempt to make us, BAA, globally successful".