More Tube Lines controversy as Boris accuses firm of "looting"

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has strongly criticised the findings of Public Private Partnership Arbiter Chris Bolt, who yesterday set London Underground's contribution to the Tube Lines upgrade work on the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines at £4.46 billion over the next seven and-a-half years.

The sum is less than the £6.8 billion originally requested by Tube Lines, but £46 million more than the £4 billion budget London Underground said it could afford. Johnson has expressed fury at Tube Lines' "breathtaking original demand" and called their initial budget "an attempt at daylight robbery."

Transport for London, meanwhile, are considering mounting a legal challenge to the arbiter's decision. "The Arbiter is choosing to interpret the contract in that way but we

think his grounds are very thin," said London Underground's managing director, Richard Parry. "We don't think he can

sustain his position through full scrutiny of a judicial review."

Mr Bolt explained that his decision award the extra sum to the PPP

contractor, and to provisionally rule that the money should not come

from the Tube Lines but from London Underground, was informed by a number of factors. These include the cost of track upgrades to the Victoria Line, which was taken over by London Underground in 2007 when Metronet, another PPP contractor, went bust.

The arbiter went on to suggest that the Mayor and LU could make spending cuts elsewhere to accomodate the shortfall.  “If London Underground decides that the Tube improvements are

their priority, they must find cost cuts elsewhere in their budget,” said Bolt.  One suggestion made by Bolt is that funding set aside by the Department of Transport for new Piccadilly line trains could be used to cover the shortfall.

Other options include delaying upgrade works to the Piccadilly Line, which have only just started. Mayor Johnson was adamant that all legal avenues would be persued to regain his budget before he agreed to any spending cuts.

"Londoners will also be outraged that the tube upgrades promised to

them are now threatened," said the Mayor. "In other countries this would be called looting, here it is called the PPP."