The CBI is setting itself on a collision course with the Government over what it regards as the coalition's failure to face up to the need for new runways in the South East. John Cridland, the Director-General, has identified airport expansion as one of the big policy battlegrounds of 2012. Britain will be left behind the "premier league of nations" if it is not addressed, he warned. Speaking to The Times before next week's annual CBI conference, Mr Cridland was also scathing about the Government's implementation of industrial policy and warned the Chancellor that his autumn Statement must address youth unemployment, lack of infrastructure spending, and high energy prices. Mr Cridland said: "We desperately need a bold vision for the UK to have a world leading airport. "The coalition agreement says no more runway capacity in the South East of England. I can't cope with that. Surely if we want to stay in the premier league of the world economy, if we are going to access export markets of the world's emerging economies, we have got to have a world-leading airport." He said the coalition had come up with a bold vision, thinking a generation ahead and committing tens of billions of pounds for a high speed railway from London to Birmingham and beyond. Yet for ministers, airport expansion "is the issue that dare not speak its name, " Mr Cridland said. The CBI had not yet done detailed analysis on where it believes airport expansion should take place. "People in the industry think it should be built on Heathrow because there is so much sunk capital and connectivity already there," he said. "That is why it would be quite radical to start somewhere else. "There is a lot of thinking to do on this but there is no point