UK's Cameron to give "clear direction" on Heathrow by year-end- spokeswoman

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 7 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron will give a clear direction on whether to expand Heathrow Airport by the end of the year, his spokeswoman said on Monday, after local media reported the long awaited decision could be delayed.

The debate over where to build a new runway in the densely populated southeast has been running for over 25 years. Cameron is due to give his final decision by the end of 2015 after an independent commission recommended Heathrow's expansion plan as the best of all the options.

A report in the Times newspaper on Monday however said Cameron could push the decision back until later next year.

Cameron's spokeswoman said the government had promised to give a "clear direction" by the end of the year.

"The government's position remains absolutely the same," she told reporters.

"We will be setting out the government's response to the Davies report before the end of the year," she said, referring to a report completed by the independent Airports Commission, chaired by Howard Davies. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; writing by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)