Tuesday 17 July 2007 9:32 pm
Islington commuters face an uncertain summer as the tube maintenance firm Metronet is on the point of collapse. Metronet is responsible for maintaining London's Bakerloo, Central, Victoria, District, Circle and Metropolitan tube lines.

The collapse of Metronet is bad news for Islington commuters who depend on the Victoria line. It's also bad news for Islington tax payers who will probably end up footing the bill. The PPP (public private partnership) was forced on London by Gordon Brown and has now ended in disaster and residents are right to be angry. Gordon Brown got us into this mess from number 11 - now he is in number 10 he cannot escape the blame.

London Underground has already paid over £3bn to Metronet, and LU boss Tim O'Toole has admitted that there is "the strong possibility that these public funds could be lost, instead of being better invested elsewhere to improve London's transport network."

I have written to Tim O'Toole seeking assurances that the promised works to upgrade the Victoria line will go ahead without further cost increases being passed on to users or taxpayers.

Meanwhile our MP has nothing to say. Emily Thornberry is proud to be Gordon Brown's number 1 fan. Perhaps if she actually used the tube, she'd side with her constituents instead.