YORKSHIRE will have a new airport, the Government has ruled. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has decided that Peel Airports' controversial plan to redevelop the former RAF Finningley in South Yorkshire can go ahead.

The ruling, after a long public inquiry, has been welcomed by Yorkshire Forward, the development agency as a spur to the regional economy.

But the go-ahead triggered disappointment from regional airport authorities, including Leeds Bradford, Humberside and East Midlands airports.

Updated: 11:08 Saturday, April 05, 2003