'Dirty tricks' election row

The race to be London's Mayor was plunged into a "dirty tricks" row today when the Liberal Democrats directly linked Tory candidate Steve Norris to the Potters Bar train crash.

An emotive campaign leaflet carries a graphic photograph of a body being carried from the crash site above a separate picture of a grinning Mr Norris.

The leaflet, which has been sanctioned by Lib-Dem candidate Simon Hughes, is being delivered to all London homes from today. It claims Mr Norris is being shunned by voters because he is chairman of Jarvis, the rail firm that has admitted joint liability for compensation in the tragedy that killed seven people in 2002.

The Health and Safety Executive said poor maintenance led to the points failure that caused the crash. The points were maintained by Jarvis. Private polling for the Liberal Democrats shows that although Mr Norris has a high voter recognition rating, he has the most negative image of any of the mayoral hopefuls. Party strategists believe the key reason is his lucrative chairmanship of Jarvis.

Mr Norris reacted furiously today. He said: "For the Liberal Democrats to resort to such dishonest, cynical tactics shows how desperate they are. I intend to run a positive campaign on the issues that matter to Londoners, not smears."

The Lib-Dems also claim Mr Norris has a major conflict of interest in his bid to be Mayor because Jarvis has lucrative contracts to maintain Tube tracks. The firm is part of a consortium which has paid large fines for missing Underground targets.

Mr Norris joined the board of Jarvis in 2000 and became chairman last November. He has repeatedly said he has no conflict of interest and refused to give up the chairman's job when he was selected as Conservative candidate.

Jarvis has admitted joint liability for all "legally justified" compensation claims brought by bereaved families.

The firm said it would pay £3million towards such claims, but critics said the firm was distancing

itself from admitting liability for the crash itself. Labour refused to link Mr Norris to the Potters Bar statement by Jarvis, fuelling speculation that the party wants to make sure he comes in the top two of the mayoral race.

Many Labour strategists believe Ken Livingstone has a much better chance of beating Mr Norris in the final run-off than Mr Hughes. But with just over five weeks to polling day, some Lib-Dems are determined to inject controversy into the election in an attempt to get their candidate on the map.

One senior Tory said last night that the Liberal Democrat leaflet was "a classic dirty trick by a desperate candidate", adding: "It's not worth dignifying with a full comment." A Labour source said: "It certainly looks like a smear tactic."

In another sign that the gloves are off in the mayoral election, Mr Norris today pledged 500 extra transport police for suburban trains. He said: "Ken Livingstone may be prepared to accept the relentless rise in violent and sexual crime in London's suburbs as inevitable, but I intend to take action.

"Too many suburban high streets are beginning to resemble run-down parts of the inner city, with gangs of youths hanging around."