Andy Burnham says Heathrow third runway is "a contested issue" as he declines to say if he backs it

In a Sunday BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, Andy Burnham repeatedly declined to say whether he supported a third runway at Heathrow, refusing five times when pressed. Burnham has previously questioned the project, saying it could pull development money away from northern England. The proposed £49 billion expansion, already delayed for years and requiring the M25 to be rerouted, would lift Heathrow’s capacity to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers annually. London Mayor Sadiq Khan opposes it, business groups back it, and government climate advisers have raised concerns that it does not fit within the UK’s legally binding emissions targets under current policies. Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticized it over climate and pollution concerns.