Shadow London Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick has joined ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone in calling on Boris Johnson to “get a grip” on increased delays on the London Underground.

Latest figures show delays shooting up, with passengers spending a third-more time travelling on the Central Line than they should, while delays on the Jubilee through Docklands and the West End are up by 300 per cent.

Station closures on the District Line rose by a staggering 1,250 per cent in just 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick, East London’s Poplar & Limehouse MP, said: “It’s not fair that Londoners are paying higher fares and then suffer in their daily commute to work.

“The mayor should get a grip on the delays and station closures which businesses can ill-afford and are bad for the quality of life for millions.”

Labour’s former London mayor Ken Livingstone, ousted by Tory Boris in the 2008 City Hall election, has drawn up a ‘fair deal on fares’ to make his arch rival put the interests of Londoners at the top of the agenda.

“Boris must be far more accountable,” Ken insisted. “He must improve the way TfL communicates with Londoners, make more effort to ensure delayed passengers can claim compensation and look again at the weekend closure programme.”

The TfL figures show 234 Underground station closures in the four weeks between November 14 and December 12, compared to 53 in the same period the year before.

Worst was the Central Line with 51 closures, compared to six, while the District had 25 compared to two—up 12 times, or 1,250 per cent—and the Jubilee had 23 compared to five.

The District was worst for delays, 34 in the same period compared to 29 the year before, while the Jubilee had 21 compared to seven.