by political editor Paul Francis

A report examining if there could be a new hub airport in Kent or elsewhere in the south east will not be published until after the next election, it has emerged.

Transport minister Patrick McLoughlin has announced that while an
interim report will be produced by the end of 2013 at the latest, the
commission being headed by Howard Davies will be asked to set out
options for increasing capacity "by the summer of 2015" - likely to be
after the next election.

The news has been condemned by a group that is backing the idea of a new
Thames Estuary hub airport.

The timescale for the study, announced by Prime Minister David Cameron
this week, will mean further uncertainty and is likely to trigger claims the government has shunted an electorally tricky issue into the long grass.

There have been reports the government wants to re-open the debate on a
possible third runway for Heathrow, despite the coalition ruling it out.

Clive Lawrence, of the campaign group DRINK, said: "We are very angry and upset - this is yet another fudge.

"People living on the Isle of Grain and the Hoo Peninsular will be in limbo for even longer. This has nothing to do with what is in the national interest, only what is in the interest of politicians."

In a ministerial statement, Mr McLoughlin said: "A decision on whether to support any of the recommendations contained in the final report will be taken by the next government."

The statement also indicated the interim report would not make any
recommendations on new airports.

A cross-section of Lord Foster's plans for a new Thames Estuary airport

Instead, the government has asked the commission to set out its assessment of "the evidence on the nature, scale and timing of the steps needed to maintain the UK's global hub status" along with "recommendations for immediate actions to improve the use of existing runway capacity in the next five years, consistent with credible long-term options."

Mr McLoughlin acknowledged the country could not continue to lag behind its international competitors.

"Successive governments have sought to develop a credible long-term aviation policy to meet the international connectivity needs of the UK.

"In each case, the policy has failed for want of trust in the process, consensus on the evidence upon which the policy was based and the difficulty of sustaining a challenging long term policy through a change in government. The country cannot afford for this failure to continue."

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