Ken demands blackout probe

Hundreds of thousands of people were hit by a power cut which caused travel mayhem in the capital last night.

Up to 250,000 Tube passengers were caught when the electricity supply failed during rush-hour - thousands of them in tunnels.

Transport for London said 60 per cent of the network was affected.

Above ground, up to 1,000 trains ground to a halt along 30 miles of track south of London. Services from Victoria, London Bridge and Waterloo were all affected. Other major stations, including Euston and King's Cross, were overcrowded as passengers abandoned the Tube. Long queues formed for taxis and buses.

On the roads, at least 270 sets of traffic lights went out.

Up to 150,000 homes in a swathe from Wimbledon in South-West London to Westminster in the city centre and Orpington in Kent were without power.

Firefighters answered 400 calls and rescued 100 people from lifts.

It sparked speculation that the capital was under attack by terrorists - or that it was facing a shutdown on the scale of north-east America, where 66million people were without power for 48hours two weeks ago.

One commuter, Peter Champion, a 46-year-old IT consultant, said: 'It's just like New York all over again.'

The power cut, blamed on a fault in two 270,000-volt cables at Wimbledon, began at 6.15pm.

In some areas, it was restored within 20 minutes but other homes had to wait until 7pm to be reconnected.

At Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals the power went off momentarily but a back-up generator kicked in before any damage was caused.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said the situation was unprecedented. 'We have never faced a crisis like this before. It is an absolutely horrendous position because it has caught the rush-hour,' he said.

Calling for an inquiry, he blamed the situation on under-investment in the National Grid and London Underground, saying some of their equipment 'should be in a museum'.

He added: 'The grid should never go down for that length of time. Something like this points to mistakes and wrong decisions. We need to find out who took those wrong decisions.'

But Mark Fairburn, of the National Grid, said it was down more to bad luck than lack of funds. 'We have invested £3billion in the system over the last ten years. Nothing is guaranteed 100 per cent,' he said.

Simon Lubin, of British Transport Police, admitted it was a 'logistical nightmare' but said: 'London Underground staff are well-trained to deal with this. Every station has a contingency plan.'