Birmingham MP and former Cabinet Minister Andrew Mitchell has thrown his weight behind plans for a third runway at Heathrow, as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling prepares to tell MPs there is no alternative to Heathrow expansion.

Mr Grayling will this week set out proposals for a third runway, which MPs will vote on later in the month.

The Transport Secretary is expected to tell the House of Commons that other options, such as expanding Gatwick or building a new airport in the Thames Estuary, would fail to meet demand for extra flights.

Mr Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield, said expanding Heathrow was vital for the economy of the West Midlands.

He said: “While the recent success of our region has been linked to the strong connections to the rest of the UK through the development of the M5, M6 and the West Coast Mainline link, international markets will play an ever-increasing role as the UK enters new markets following our exit from the EU next year.

"Improving our links to Heathrow has therefore never been more important.”

Andrew Mitchell

But the Government faces a battle, with some backbench MPs including former Cabinet Minister Justine Greening opposed to Heathrow expansion.

Labour is also divided. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has been a long-standing critic of plans for a third runway while many Labour MPs in the North East are firmly in favour.

Supporters of a third runway say it will safeguard domestic flights between Heathrow and regional airports. At the moment, lack of capacity at the airport means airlines have to choose between retaining domestic flights or introducing new international services.

Heathrow managers are to ask the Government to introduce legislation which will guarantee that a proportion of slots at the airport are reserved for domestic services.

Mr Mitchell, a former International Development Secretary, highlighted plans to run HS2 high speed rail trains from Birmingham to Old Oak Common, a station on the outskirts of London, where passengers will be able to transfer to Crossrail trains running to Heathrow.

He said: “An expanded Heathrow, combined with HS2 access via Old Oak Common will make much-needed improvements to national connectivity.

"Journey times to the West Midlands could reduce by 60 minutes, significant time savings that will benefit my constituents in Sutton Coldfield and communities across the UK.

“Aside from convenience, the West Midlands stands to benefit from up to £13bn in economic benefits and around 12,000 new jobs."

He added: “In the West Midlands, our world-leading manufacturing and engineering sectors will look to build on their technological innovations, continuing to lead the world – and supply the UK too - and an expanded Heathrow must play a central role.

“Like most parliamentarians and the public at large, I want to see a plan for expansion that prizes sustainability and looks after the environment.

“So we should take confidence that Heathrow has already set out in detail its air quality triple lock alongside plans to make their entire car fleet electric or hybrid by 2020, and to power the airport with 100% renewable energy.”

The DUP and SNP both support a third runway. One option that the Government could adopt in order to avoid internal battles - which may be welcomed by Labour too - is to allow MPs a free vote on Heathrow expansion.