Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor has insisted Maplin sands off Foulness remains the Government's preferred option for a third London airport.

He spoke out after national newspaper reports claimed ministers were looking at Cliffe, on the Kent side of the Thames Estuary, for the project.

Ministers are considering their options for increasing capacity throughout the south east as part of a plan to cope with a doubling of air traffic over the next 20 years.

Today's Financial Times said Transport Secretary Stephen Byers was considering a proposal to build an airport with space for four runways at the site in Cliffe in Kent, a stretch of marshland which is home to several protected species of birds.

The proposal is likely to be included alongside proposals to build new runways at Stansted, Gatwick and Heathrow.

Sir Teddy, MP for Rochford and Southend East, said today: "I know there are a number of sites being looked at, but what I was told was Maplin was the one with the least problems and the most advantages."

Any plan to develop the Cliffe site would be certain to attract fierce criticism from environmental and cultural groups.

A Department of Transport spokesman said: ''All sorts of options are being looked at in the south east. The Government has taken no decisions on this important issue at the present time."

Published Friday, March 1, 2002