13/07/2014 BBC London News

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Good evening. A group of business leaders have accused the Government

of a lack of leadership over the future of airport expansion in the

south-east. Last year, the airport commission came up with a series of

recommendations which the Government is yet to respond to. In an open

letter, they say political quiz crass -- procrastination could

damage the economy. The future of airport expansion in London and the

south-east is still up in the air. Business leaders, including bosses

of some of retail 's biggest names claimed silence on the part of

ministers could harm the economy. We think it is really important for the

Government to maintain the trust and confidence of the business

community, that they come out and say on record that they support that

view, that London and the South East needs at least one new runway. It

has been seven months since the commission made the recommendation.

It put forward three options, build a third runway at Heathrow, a more

radical idea, double the length of the North runway or build a second

runway at Gatwick. It is also looking at Boris Johnson 's plan for

a new airport on an island. They say that would present a considerable

cost and risk to the taxpayer. Business leaders do not say which

option they would prefer but complain that London is a whole is

missing out because of a lack of political leadership and that other

European cities are cashing in at our expense. The Government

responded today, saying it was acting on the airport commission

findings last December, including better rail access to Gatwick. In a

statement, it said: the final recommendation is not

expected until summer 2015, after the next general election. In just

over two months, Scotland will vote on whether it should stay part of

the UK. Our political editor has been looking at what the impact

might be on London if it chooses independence. The recent local

elections again showed the Capitol leaning towards labour. Some say if

Scotland left the union it would leave the capital more out of step

than the rest of the country -- with the rest of the country. If you took

the Scottish MPs out of parliament, the extremities of victories for the

Conservatives would have been much more. For Labour governments, it

would have been much less. It is much more difficult. It polarises

politics a little bit in London as well. We know that London votes

Labour insignificant Londoners - in significant numbers. London would

find itself in a remainder of the UK which is more likely to vote to

leave the EU than if the Scots had stayed in, assuming there is a boat

on whether we leave the EU a lot. -- a vote on whether we leave the EU or

not. Lots of differing views about whether London would lose or gain

economically. There is a support that London beards. I can see the

argument there would be financial institutions and insurance companies

that have moved down to London. It is about more than money, it is

about who we think we are and what our shared history and culture is.

After the frenzy in the city of London and the crash it did not make

us resilient. Could we do without a lot of these debt-ridden banks we

have managed to get through in the last ten years? I think we would be

quite happy about that. The argument remains about whether Scottish

independence would leave the capital richer or poorer.

A much fresher feel too tonight Hopefully more comfortable and a

fine day to come tomorrow. Plenty of sunny spells. It will cloud over in

the afternoon. A light south-westerly breeze. Tuesday, we

are looking at patchy rain. More showers around on Wednesday. Look at

the temperatures rise as we head through the week. We are back

tomorrow morning. Good night. Good evening. A fine night ahead. A

few showers are lingering across eastern England and eastern

Scotland. They should fade away into the small hours. There will be clear

skies and it will be a fresher night and last night. Temperatures will

slide down into the mid-teens and lower. A decent start to the new

week. The emphasis really is on start