The PM and the state of the Tube

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The report is scathing in its description of a scheme driven by "a dogma that the private sector will always deliver greater efficiency, innovation and value for money than the public sector". It warns that the collapse of the deal leaves most of the Tube modernisation programme in doubt. Rightly, it calls for the Transport Secretary to make a statement on who exactly will now pick up the resulting £1.9 billion bill.

London Underground must learn the lessons of the affair, and the committee's report is critical of LU's failure to negotiate a tough enough contract with Metronet. But the bulk of the blame surely lies with Mr Brown and the Treasury for the inflexibility of the 30-year contracts - and London council tax payers and Tube users should not have to pay for the collapse of Mr Brown's scheme.

The Mayor now wants Transport for London to take over Metronet's work, which now looks like the most logical solution. Brian Paddick, the Lib-Dem mayoral candidate, opposes a TfL takeover although it is not clear what private sector solution he has in mind; Tory Boris Johnson remains vague about what he would do. All the candidates now need to engage with this issue. The Metronet collapse may not have been of their making, but for whoever wins the mayoral election, the fiasco's aftermath will be one of their most pressing challenges.