:00:00. > :00:00.That's all from me, stay with us on BBC1.
:00:00. > :00:15.It's time for the news where you are.
:00:16. > :00:26.Good evening. A group of business leaders have accused the Government
:00:27. > :00:30.of a lack of leadership over the future of airport expansion in the
:00:31. > :00:33.south-east. Last year, the airport commission came up with a series of
:00:34. > :00:39.recommendations which the Government is yet to respond to. In an open
:00:40. > :00:44.letter, they say political quiz crass -- procrastination could
:00:45. > :00:47.damage the economy. The future of airport expansion in London and the
:00:48. > :00:52.south-east is still up in the air. Business leaders, including bosses
:00:53. > :00:57.of some of retail 's biggest names claimed silence on the part of
:00:58. > :01:01.ministers could harm the economy. We think it is really important for the
:01:02. > :01:04.Government to maintain the trust and confidence of the business
:01:05. > :01:09.community, that they come out and say on record that they support that
:01:10. > :01:19.view, that London and the South East needs at least one new runway. It
:01:20. > :01:21.has been seven months since the commission made the recommendation.
:01:22. > :01:26.It put forward three options, build a third runway at Heathrow, a more
:01:27. > :01:32.radical idea, double the length of the North runway or build a second
:01:33. > :01:38.runway at Gatwick. It is also looking at Boris Johnson 's plan for
:01:39. > :01:41.a new airport on an island. They say that would present a considerable
:01:42. > :01:45.cost and risk to the taxpayer. Business leaders do not say which
:01:46. > :01:49.option they would prefer but complain that London is a whole is
:01:50. > :01:52.missing out because of a lack of political leadership and that other
:01:53. > :02:00.European cities are cashing in at our expense. The Government
:02:01. > :02:02.responded today, saying it was acting on the airport commission
:02:03. > :02:05.findings last December, including better rail access to Gatwick. In a
:02:06. > :02:22.statement, it said: the final recommendation is not
:02:23. > :02:31.expected until summer 2015, after the next general election. In just
:02:32. > :02:35.over two months, Scotland will vote on whether it should stay part of
:02:36. > :02:38.the UK. Our political editor has been looking at what the impact
:02:39. > :02:44.might be on London if it chooses independence. The recent local
:02:45. > :02:48.elections again showed the Capitol leaning towards labour. Some say if
:02:49. > :02:52.Scotland left the union it would leave the capital more out of step
:02:53. > :02:58.than the rest of the country -- with the rest of the country. If you took
:02:59. > :03:01.the Scottish MPs out of parliament, the extremities of victories for the
:03:02. > :03:05.Conservatives would have been much more. For Labour governments, it
:03:06. > :03:09.would have been much less. It is much more difficult. It polarises
:03:10. > :03:20.politics a little bit in London as well. We know that London votes
:03:21. > :03:24.Labour insignificant Londoners - in significant numbers. London would
:03:25. > :03:28.find itself in a remainder of the UK which is more likely to vote to
:03:29. > :03:34.leave the EU than if the Scots had stayed in, assuming there is a boat
:03:35. > :03:40.on whether we leave the EU a lot. -- a vote on whether we leave the EU or
:03:41. > :03:45.not. Lots of differing views about whether London would lose or gain
:03:46. > :03:51.economically. There is a support that London beards. I can see the
:03:52. > :03:53.argument there would be financial institutions and insurance companies
:03:54. > :03:57.that have moved down to London. It is about more than money, it is
:03:58. > :04:04.about who we think we are and what our shared history and culture is.
:04:05. > :04:10.After the frenzy in the city of London and the crash it did not make
:04:11. > :04:15.us resilient. Could we do without a lot of these debt-ridden banks we
:04:16. > :04:20.have managed to get through in the last ten years? I think we would be
:04:21. > :04:23.quite happy about that. The argument remains about whether Scottish
:04:24. > :04:30.independence would leave the capital richer or poorer.
:04:31. > :04:36.A much fresher feel too tonight Hopefully more comfortable and a
:04:37. > :04:44.fine day to come tomorrow. Plenty of sunny spells. It will cloud over in
:04:45. > :04:49.the afternoon. A light south-westerly breeze. Tuesday, we
:04:50. > :04:53.are looking at patchy rain. More showers around on Wednesday. Look at
:04:54. > :04:55.the temperatures rise as we head through the week. We are back
:04:56. > :05:14.tomorrow morning. Good night. Good evening. A fine night ahead. A
:05:15. > :05:18.few showers are lingering across eastern England and eastern
:05:19. > :05:23.Scotland. They should fade away into the small hours. There will be clear
:05:24. > :05:27.skies and it will be a fresher night and last night. Temperatures will
:05:28. > :05:32.slide down into the mid-teens and lower. A decent start to the new
:05:33. > :05:33.week. The emphasis really is on start