Boris calls for airport in east instead of Heathrow expansion

Boris Johnson has said that Heathrow expansion should cease in favour of a new airport being built to the east of London.

The Tory mayoral candidate said ministers should look at moving the airport, saying Heathrow was a "1960s planning error".

"I would like to look at a variety of solutions and we should ask the question whether we should have the solution in the Thames estuary."

All four leading mayoral candidates - Mr Johnson, Ken Livingstone, Brian Paddick and the Green's Sian Berry - have appeared in an advertisement condemning plans for a third runway at the airport.

Under the headline "London united", the advertisement said: "All four candidates for London Mayor oppose a third runway at Heathrow. They don't agree on much, but they're all against this."

But the business community said it was "dismayed" at this " shortsightedness". Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "Additional capacity at the airport is the only way to guarantee London's competitive position... London has spent years working to overtake New York as the world's foremost financial centre - it would be disastrous if that was to be squandered."