Row as PPP contracts are signed

A bitter row escalated today after London Underground signed initial contracts to partprivatise the Tube.

Critics of the controversial scheme queued to condemn the move with Mayor Ken Livingstone insisting the deal would make the Tube "unsafe" for commuters. He has ordered his lawyers to comb over detail of the contracts and has not ruled out a further legal challenge.

Mr Livingstone is in Moscow today on a fact-finding mission to examine a range of issues from the problems of transport to concerns about people living rough on the streets.

He said Tube fares may have to increase by up to 25 per cent to pay for the public-private partnership under which large sections of the system will be hived off to private consortia on 30-year leases. Union leaders said the private sector was now "dribbling" at the prospect of huge profits.

Mr Livingstone said: "This PPP is unsafe, will postpone real improvements for decades and has a funding gap requiring fare increases of up to 25per cent in the first year."

He said government had "ignored the views of London" in bulldozing through the scheme. "We will have our lawyers look very carefully at the final contracts which we are advised may be unlawful," the Mayor added.

Signing of the contracts was revealed in final editions of the Evening Standard last night. Work to begin rebuilding the ailing system could now begin late summer.

Bob Kiley, London's transport commissioner, refused to accept that PPP is a "done deal" and described the signing of contracts as "nothing short of scandalous".

He said that there are still "substantial hurdles to overcome" before the private sector takes over.