Architects have come up with designs for Heathrow City — a 190,000-home town that would spring up if the west London airport closes.

Former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling has warned the UK economy could face more than a decade “bumping along the bottom”.

BRITAIN may build a £50 billion (€60.5bn) airport on the mudflats of the Thames estuary instead of expanding Heathrow as the government examines how to meet burgeoning demand for flights.