Rebels fail to block runway plan

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But a joint Conservative/Liberal Democrat motion urging ministers to think again about the controversial development was rejected by 297 votes to 278.

The Tory-led debate was an embarrassment for Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, who had to listen to a string of angry protests from his own benches.

Several former ministers spoke out against the scheme, leaving Mr Hoon to rely heavily on former transport secretary Ruth Kelly for vocal support.

The debate came after Andrew Slaughter, Labour MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush, resigned as an aide to Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown to campaign against the plan.

In the Commons, Mr Slaughter hit out at the "sheer illogicality" of a third runway and said he believed it would never go ahead.

The Tories used the full day's debate to give MPs a vote on the issue after ministers refused to do so - and 132 MPs, including almost 50 Labour members, signed an early day motion protesting against the move and demanding a vote.

It followed a study by the Campaign for Better Transport which suggested other British airports would have to abandon expansion plans, if Heathrow's went ahead, to meet national climate change targets.

The Government's working majority of 63 was cut by more than two-thirds in the vote. The Government's amendment stressing that targets on noise and air quality will have to be met before development can go ahead was passed without a vote.