NICOLA STURGEON could withdraw her support for a third runway at Heathrow airport, she revealed at First Minister’s Questions today.

The First Minister indicated that SNP approval for Heathrow expansion would be reconsidered as part of its review of policies that risk exacerbating climate change.

She was responding to Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie, who ridiculed the Scottish government’s abandonment of planned cuts to aviation taxes last week. The decision followed Ms Sturgeon’s declaration of a “climate emergency” and pressure from Labour and the Greens.

Explaining the U-turn, Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: "I'm sure Willie Rennie didn’t forget to notice last week that we had a new report from the Committee on Climate Change that recommended increased targets on tackling emissions. We, unlike any other government in the UK, have accepted those recommendations.”

But Mr Rennie asked if Ms Sturgeon had “only just realised” that more flights would be a problem. He called on the Scottish government to drop its support for the expansion of Britain’s busiest airport.

Under a “memorandum of understanding” signed by airport chiefs and ministers in Edinburgh, Heathrow has committed to creating 16,000 new jobs across Scotland. Both parties have also agreed to investigate turning the Scottish government-owned Prestwick Airport into a logistics hub to support the third runway’s construction.

Speaking after FMQs, the First Minister’s spokesman said: “First and foremost, Heathrow is primarily a matter for the UK government, it doesn’t affect Scotland’s climate emissions.

“Direct flights to and from Scotland, as a percentage of Heathrow’s overall traffic, in terms of numbers of flights and numbers of passengers and CO² emissions, we’re talking a very very ... small percentage.

“As the FM said, all relevant policies are being looked at in light of the new targets.

“It’s not within the gift of the Scottish government whether the third runway is built at Heathrow or not.”

The spokesman said the memorandum concerned the jobs that airport expansion in south-east England would bring to Scotland, and was “not a decision in principle.” He said a logistics hub at Prestwick would “not necessarily” lead to more emissions.

• SCOTTISH LABOUR leader Richard Leonard challenged the First Minister to back his party’s parliamentary Bill for rent controls at FMQs today. He said that when Labour MSPs bring forward proposals for a “Mary Barbour law” next week, Ms Sturgeon could choose to “take the side of rogue landlords and a broken housing market — or she can back Labour’s plans.”