The World at One
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Reuters

Former Cabinet minister Michael Gove has admitted he “made mistakes” in his handling of the Conservative leadership election, in the aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union.

Mr Gove initially backed fellow leave campaigner Boris Johnson for leader, before announcing that he would himself stand to be Prime Minister.

Speaking to The World at One on BBC Radio 4 in his first broadcast interview since the EU Referendum, Mr Gove said he “should either have paused and reflected before backing Boris, or having backed Boris, then stuck with him”.

He went on to say that if he was going to break with Mr Johnson he should have said “I have an alternative view, rather than passing any commentary or judgement on Boris”.

Mr Gove also said that with hindsight Theresa May was “the right leader at the right time” and that Boris Johnson has “been a success as Foreign Secretary”.

The former Justice Minister said “if the chance came to serve again” in the Cabinet, he would “happily say yes”.

He added that he was “very happy” on the back benches and would be standing again at the next election.

The World at One
BBC Radio 4

House of Commons
Parliament

Chris Grayling says the government "agreed to accept" the recommendation for a new north west runway at Heathrow.

The government will bring forward a "draft national policy statement" in the new year - and only when MPs have voted on it will Heathrow be able to bring forward a planning application, he says.

But he adds: "If we do nothing the cost to our nation will be significant."

House of Commons
Parliament

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling begins his statement on airport expansion.

He says the Airports Commission reported that "we need more capacity in the south east" of England and a new runway at Heathrow was the best option.

Further work to study the best location for a third runway at Heathrow has concluded, he tells MPs.

"This is a momentous step for our country," he says.

Mr Grayling adds that he knows that many MPs "have strong convictions on this issue" but the decision is important for jobs and sends "a very clear message today that this country is open for business".

House of Commons
Parliament

The Procedure Committee has made a number of recommendations regarding private members' bills:

• Up to four bills in each session would be given priority for consideration by the House on the recommendation of the Backbench Business Committee, based on an assessment of their preparation, the prior consultation undertaken on them and the support for the proposition across the House;
• The total number of bills to be given priority on Fridays, whether by the new route above or through the ballot, would be reduced from 20 to 14;
• The House would explicitly authorise the Speaker and his deputies to apply the existing provisions for imposing time limits on backbench and frontbench speeches to proceedings on sitting Fridays.

Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “Put simply, it's about time. 

"Successive governments have prevaricated for far too long in the face of a blindingly obvious need for more runway capacity. Businesses will now want assurances that the final approval process for Heathrow's new runway will be smooth and swift, so that construction can begin as soon as possible.

"Westminster must not underestimate the impact that further delays would have on business confidence. The time for playing politics with our national connectivity is over."

ClientEarth's CEO James Thornton says: "Even without expansion, the area around Heathrow will continue to be in breach of legal air pollution limits until 2025 at least, under the government’s current projections.

“In April last year the Supreme Court ordered the government to produce new plans to achieve air quality limits.Those plans were so poor that last week we took them back to the High Court to force action on air pollution. 

"The government needs to produce an in-depth and credible plan to drastically cut air pollution to meet its legal obligations rather than digging an even deeper hole for itself."

Carole Walker
Political correspondent

The Prime Minister has informed the Cabinet of what she said was a “historic and momentous decision” to expand Heathrow.  

She said the decision taken by a Cabinet sub-committee had been unanimous and would deliver “maximum benefit for the national interest”.  

The PM’s spokeswoman said Theresa May had been very clear this was a vital decision for the country and it was right to get on and take important decisions, not duck them, whilst taking account of the implications for the whole of the UK, not a particular part of it.

The spokeswoman said the PM had made a “passing reference” to the special arrangements on the suspension of collective responsibility as set out last week.  

She confirmed that those arrangements come into effect now and said the foreign secretary and education secretary had been given special dispensation at their request.

Asked whether there would be a free vote in Parliament, she said the government would set out the arrangements for the vote in due course.

The spokeswoman said the subcommittee discussion had been “very thorough” , but today’s decision was a “historic decision” which had been ducked by successive governments for more than 40 years and was a “massive investment” to help the economic success of the country.

House of Commons
Parliament

Pete Wishart, the SNP's spokesman on Commons business, says last Friday saw the "depressing" and "dispiriting spectacle" of a minister talking out his SNP colleague John Nicolson's bill.

He welcomes the committee's recommendations to address the "appalling way that we treat private members' bills" and calls on the government to treat it seriously.

David Lidington says that his colleague, Justice Minister Sam Gyimah, allowed interventions in his speech on Mr Nicolson's Turing Bill, including from SNP members.

The leader of the House also insists that the government's own proposals for pardons for gay men will see the changes made more quickly "with many fewer risks that somebody convicted of an offence against a child will receive a pardon".

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow leader of the House Valerie Vaz says she can recall a debate on daylight saving during which "members took so long to talk it out that it was dark by the time we left the chamber".

As the Procedure Committee is proposing that the Backbench Business Committee decides which private members' bills will be prioritised for debate, Ms Vaz calls for more cross-party representation on the committee.

Otherwise, she argues, "the government will be in control of which bills are picked".

Leader of the House David Lidington says the government will respond "in detail to the various proposals that came from the Procedure Committee".

But he argues that if "the proposer of a private members' bill" has sufficient support from fellow MPs, he or she can force a closure motion on a debate, which could end attempts to talk a bill out.

Conservative MP Tania Mathias has backed Zac Goldsmith's decision to resign in protest at the government's proposals to build a third runway at Heathrow airport. 

Dr Mathias, whose constituency lies between Mr Goldsmith's and Heathrow, said that while she supported Mr Goldsmith in his pledge to resign and fight the expansion of the airport, she would herself "continue to fight for a better not bigger Heathrow."

Asked if she intended to resign she would only say she planned to continue to fight expansion of the airport “as the MP”.    

Lord Adonis, now interim chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, said: “Today’s decision is a long overdue step in the right direction. 

"In the time the UK has been considering a third runway all of our major European competitors have delivered increased capacity and are today benefiting from the new routes to emerging markets that come with it."

The government has given the go-ahead to a third runway at Heathrow, but why has it taken 50 years to decide on expanding London's main airport?

Stuart Maisner
BBC Live reporter

The Transport Secretary has explained his decision to support a third runway at Heathrow, whilst praising Gatwick.

House of Commons
Parliament

Conservative MP Charles Walker puts his urgent question on Commons procedure on private members' bills. These bills are put forward by backbench MPs rather than the government.

Mr Walker calls for a statement on the government's response to the Procedure Committee's report on private members' bills and whether the House will be given time to debate it.

Leader of the House David Lidington says the government will respond in a "two month time frame", which he says is normal procedure.

Mr Walker, who chairs the Procedure Committee, says that the House "bleeds credibility and it bleeds standing" as a result of Friday debates on private members' bills.

He refers to last Friday, when a bill to pardon gay men living with UK convictions for same-sex offences committed before the law was changed was "talked out" by the government.

He says his committee's proposals would not stop that happening again but would show that the House "takes backbench legislation seriously" and might avoid "too many days when we leave this place downcast and somewhat ashamed".

House of Commons
Parliament

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell asks what the implications are for public finances "if access to the single market is not achieved".

Chancellor Philip Hammond said Mr McDonnell will have to wait until the Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast in November.

Mr McDonnell claims a confidential Treasury document, which has found its way into the public domain, indicates that "this country was scandalously economically ill-prepared... for the Brexit decision".

Mr Hammond says the Treasury does have figures but "I'm just not giving them to him". He concedes that the document in question "was published by mistake" but claims all the figures in it have been published elsewhere.