Thousands of commuters were delayed on the busy Victoria Line as the men ambled through the park

Thousands of commuters were delayed on the busy Victoria Line as the men ambled through the park.While accepting the Government's challenge, Sir Malcolm Bates, London Transport chairman, said independent research showed "passenger satisfaction" was up 15 per cent over the past five years.Passengers have also endured disruption through the shutdown of part of the Northern Line and have suffered delays and overcrowding in stifling heat this summer.The money provided by the Government will ensure work goes ahead on other lines such as the District and Victoria routes. We need a change of culture, we need enthusiasm and we need to embrace the culture of service." He announced a new government taskforce to ensure there were improvements.By contrast, Mr Prescott said a "good service" had been provided despite a pounds 1.2bn investment backlog. But he accepted Mr Blair's strictures on the need for improvement following the debacle of the Circle Line, which had to close for engineering work.Mr Prescott added: "We have provided the money; we are entitled to expect delivery." But observers believed it was unlikely the Government would rein back on investment if there was a perceived failure to enhance parts of the service.Mr Blair and Mr Prescott walked from Downing Street to the conference at London Underground's St James's headquarters. In a public show of unity, Tony Blair and the Secretary of State for Transport demanded a "world-class" service in return for the pounds 517m investment announced last week. Mr Blair, who recently crossed swords with his deputy over public-service employees, told London Underground managers the Government would not continue to pour money into the network if they got "mediocrity" in return. He has been told transport could be a central issue in the next election. However, the "additional investment" trumpeted by the Government will simply enable the network to continue with an existing programme of maintenance and improvements, managers acknowledged. Ministers had wanted to finalise a public-private partnership for the system by April but the deadline for the new ownership structure has been extended to April 2001, and the Government has been forced to plug the gap.In his speech to Tube managers Mr Blair said: "We cannot sustain pouring in money and getting back mediocrity.

She wasn't about to have her procedural triumph undermined like this - but the workers of Ghana and South Africa can take comfort, the sword shall not sleep in his hand.. THE PRIME Minister yesterday backed John Prescott's "new deal" for London Underground. If dank cul-de-sacs in Hackney can be named after Nelson Mandela, surely there is room for a Sir Peter Boulevard in Soweto or the Tapsell Memorial Leisure Centre in Accra.Yesterday, Ms Boothroyd cut him off just as he was getting into his formidable stride. Some Labour MPs are reluctant to believe that Sir Peter is in earnest, that this radical internationalism simply looks better than lobbying to protect the profits of multinational mining companies But I wonder I think Sir Peter hankers after a place in the sun.

What about poorer communities in South Africa, raged Sir Peter, features suffused with indignation. Did the Government care nothing for the 2,500 Ghanaian miners who, along with their dependants, had been plunged into abject poverty by the drop in the world price for gold? ("Plunged" is one of Sir Peter's favourite words, pronounced with a hell-fire relish for irreversible catastrophe.)His passion for the rights of oppressed Third World workers has arrived late in life but, like many belated converts, his devotion to the cause appears to be all the fiercer for it. He made a valiant attempt to continue the assault, spotting his opportunity during a question to Patricia Hewitt about what steps the Government was taking to make sure that people in poorer communities had access to financial services. If he could have reached, I think Sir Peter Tapsell would have smacked his colleague on the nose with a rolled-up order paper, so apoplectic was he to have his hobby-horse cut from under him by friendly fire. He sagged back as Labour's bemused snorts ripened into gleeful laughter.Nor was Mr Maude the only one to be dismayed by Mr Fabricant's incontinence. "In that case I will move straight to question three", she said briskly, reminding Mr Fabricant that all further exchanges on the matter were now out of order. This was bad news for Francis Maude, who had just loaded both barrels and was even now tensing to rise into firing position.