Ken Livingstone and the government have pledged to work together to ensure Tube part-privatisation is successfully implemented.

The commitment came after a meeting between the London mayor and transport minister John Spellar.

Ahead of the meeting, reports suggested that Livingstone was seeking an extra £1.5 billion from the government to fund the controversial public-private partnership for the London Underground.

London's mayor believes that planned transport grants to London to cover the costs of the PPP fall short by £1.47 billion in the years up to 2009/10.

But the first in a series of meetings between the mayor and the government, held to agree the details of the Tube transfer, resulted in a joint statement that committed the two parties to working together.

"They agreed that the government, London Underground Limited, the mayor and Transport for London will now work urgently together to enable the orderly transfer of London Underground Limited to the control of the mayor and its successful integration into Transport for London once the PPP contracts have come into effect," said a statement.

The meeting follows Livingstone's failure to halt the PPP plan through a series of judicial reviews.