GOVERNMENT transport officials have dismissed as speculation reports that ministers are poised to veto plans for an airport at Cliffe in north Kent.

Transport secretary Alistair Darling is said to be ready to back new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and to rule out any prospect of a new four-runway airport for Kent.

Such a decision would represent victory for opponents of the Cliffe scheme, which has drawn virtually blanket condemnation from residents, local councils, politicians and environmental campaigners.

The Department of Transport insisted no decisions had yet been reached and any formal announcement would come when the Government issued a White Paper on aviation strategy, probably in December.

A DoT spokeswoman said: “Officials are currently assessing the responses to the consultation exercise and decisions will not be made until much later in the year. This is all speculation.”

Gillingham Labour MP Paul Clark said it would come as little surprise if the airport plan for Kent was rejected.

But he warned: “Until the Secretary of State comes right out and says so, we will continue to press the case that Cliffe is not a viable option for a whole host of reasons. Not least is the Department of Transport’s own assessment that it could prove to be one of the most dangerous places to fly in and out of.”

He was referring to a study, commissioned by the Government and published in April, which concluded that without a “comprehensive and aggressive bird management programme” an airport at Cliffe would be unsafe.

Consultants commissioned by Kent County Council say the Government under-estimated by £3billion the costs of building an airport covering 26 square kilometres of environmentally-sensitive marsh land.

The Sunday Times claimed that a new runway would be built at Heathrow within five years, followed by a second runway at Stansted and another at Gatwick – but only after 2019.