TIME TO STOP THE NORTHERN LINE BUCK PASSING FIASCO

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 20th Oct 2005

Commenting ahead of the Transport Committee meeting later today (Thursday), which will question transport executives on the collapse of the Northern Line service last week, the London Assembly Liberal Democrats have called for someone to own up and take responsibility for the fiasco.

London Assembly Liberal Democrat Transport spokesman, Geoff Pope, said:-

"While many of the Tube top dogs are facing the Assembly grilling, the one person who has still managed to avoid key questions is the man who set up the PPP in the first place - Gordon Brown.

"The Northern Line fiasco shows that the PPP and PFI deals done in the last ten years on the Tube were ill-judged, ill-conceived and poorly implemented.

"It is astounding that after all the chaos that has hit the Northern Line no one has had the decency to take responsibility for the farce. The embarrassing spectacle of each and every organisation playing a game of pass the blame parcel must end.

"Today will be a real chance for someone to be honest enough with Londoners and accept that the buck stops with them."

Ends

Notes to editor

From 10am on Thursday 20th October at City Hall the London Assembly Transport Committee will be questioning the following people about last weeks Northern Line suspension:

Part 1 - Northern Line

· Tim O'Toole - Managing Director, London Underground

· David Waboso - Director of Engineering, London Underground

· Terry Morgan - Chief Executive, Tube Lines

· Stephen Peat - Director of Operations, Tube Lines

· Bob Crow - General Secretary, RMT

· Bobby Law - London Transport Region Organiser, RMT

· Keith Norman - General Secretary, ASLEF

· Steve Grant - District Organiser for London Underground, ASLEF