A report commissioned by three councils around Heathrow airport has said that up to 70,000 jobs could be put at risk in the surrounding area if the Government decides to create a new hub airport and close Heathrow by 2030, an option favoured by Mayor Boris Johnson.

Ealing, Hounslow and Slough councils published the report, claiming that over 30,600 jobs in the three boroughs directly or indirectly rely on the airport.

Colin Ellar, deputy leader of Hounslow council, said: "Sir Howard Davies and his commission colleagues need to take into account the economic wasteland they would create for employment if they go with the nuclear option of a brand new estuary hub. At a time when the UK's economic recovery is in its fragile infancy and needs to be nurtured, it would plunge west London into a new recession from which it might never fully recover.