Livingstone damns 'greedy' Post Office

London Mayor Ken Livingstone accused the Post Office of “the worst kind of corporate greed” yesterday for failing to help him set up his congestion charge scheme.

From February 17, motorists will have to pay a £5 fee to drive into central London in a bid to cut traffic and raise funds to be ploughed into public transport.

Yesterday, Mr Livingstone said that negotiations for post offices to become official registering points for the scheme collapsed because of a massive last-minute price rise.

The deal fell through when the Post Office increased its bill from £250,000 to £1 million “without justification.”

Mr Livingstone, who intends to complain to the government, said: “This is a monopoly and a monopoly has a duty to provide a service, not simply to produce the maximum profit that it can.

“This is the worst sort of corporate greed.”