AIRPORT plans for the Thames Estuary will be examined by Government ministers, the Prime Minister has said.

In a speech setting out his “vision” for national infrastructure, David Cameron acknowledged the proposals will be controversial but said greater capacity for air travel in the south east was necessary for Britain to retain its status as a “key global hub for air travel, not just a feeder route to bigger airports elsewhere”.

He said: “We will need to take decisions for the long-term - and we will be bringing forward options in our aviation strategy which will include an examination of the pros and cons of a new airport in the Thames estuary."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been a keen backer of plans to build an airport on reclaimed land in the estuary, dubbed Boris Island.

Wembley stadium designer Lord Norman Foster unveiled his plans for a £50billion Thames Hub last year, which would include a vast airport on the Isle of Grain capable of handling 150million passengers a year.

Thames Estuary airport schemes have gathered to opposition of councils and environmental groups in North Kent, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Kent County Council and the RSPB.

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson and Dartford Council leader, Councillor Jeremy Kite have also spoken out about the possibility of such an airport which campaigners say would destroy wildlife and be dangerous because of the possibility of bird strike and the presence of the sunken bomb ship the SS Richard Montgomery in the estuary.