Botched Tube privatisation wasted £410m

The Government wasted £410 million in its botched part-privatisation of the Tube, the Commons' spending watchdog revealed today.

In a damning indictment of the poor controls which led to the failure of Metronet, the Public Accounts Committee concluded the money was lost as a result of the Department of Transport's "inadequate management of the risks" in the way sections of the Tube were hived-off to the private sector on 30-year leases.

Metronet, the maintenance giant responsible for the Circle, District, Victoria and Bakerloo lines, went bust three years ago with debts of £2 billion.