London Mayor Boris Johnson has said he will look into imposing a congestion charge on roads around Heathrow to reduce air pollution.

Mr Johnson told London Assembly members he will consult the new coalition Government about the prospect of a “clean air zone” in west London.

Mike Tuffrey, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, called for Mr Johnson to work with BAA to try and cut traffic around the airport at Mayor’s Question Time on Wednesday.

He said: “In terms of dealing with the air quality aspects at Heathrow, an aweful lot of that is surface transport in and out, and the studies of the ash cloud affect are as much about reduced vehicles in and around Heathrow as the planes themselves.”

Mr Johnson replied: “I will examine it and I will consult members of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition about what kind of congestion charge they might support in west London.”

He added: “Plainly the reduction of nitrous oxide around Heathrow during the volcanic ash cloud is a very powerful indicator of the affect of aviation on pollution.”

The chamber at City Hall heard that passenger numbers at Heathrow were still predicted to increase from 63m to 80m a year, despite the coalition Government abolishing plans for a third runway.

Mr Johnson said: “I certainly don’t think that Heathrow can be relied upon to be Britain’s hub international airport for the future. I think that’s absolutely crazy.”

He added: “I’m not an expert on quite how much more you can cram into the existing runway capacity at Heathrow, but plainly I do not want to see huge numbers of more flights coming over the skies of london.

“I don’t want to see more nitrous oxide being emitted by traffic congestion and aviation congestiion around west London.”

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