The man charged with ensuring the day-to-day running of the tube has attacked his partners in the private sector for "parsimony, an aversion to risk, and a failure to deliver", according to the Guardian.

Under the public private partnership introduced in 2003 a rapid improvement was expected in the underground service.

But Tim O'Toole, the American brought in by mayor Ken Livingstone to head London Underground, told the paper: "The improvements are not happening fast enough. No one wants to live this way."