By Ben Davies BBC News Online political staff

The "scum of the earth" including shareholders, lawyers and accountants are set to profit from the public private partnership on the Tube, says union leader Mick Rix.

	:	Trade unions guide
The big unions at TUC 2002

In an interview with BBC News Online, the left-wing boss of the train drivers' union Aslef said profits to the private sector come at the expense of "Londoners' misery".

They are going to make a mass of money out of what I believe will be Londoners' misery

Mick Rix

Mr Rix also blasts organisations like the CBI for being "immature" in following what he says are their own self interests.

He said: "At times, to be quite honest, they're very immature, and they're very selfish and all they're interested in is themselves.

"They're not interested in the economy and they're not interested in the fabric of the nation...".

But it is his comments about the private sector's role in the future of the London Underground that will raise most eyebrows coming as they do on the eve of the TUC annual congress in Blackpool.

Misery?

He said the government had "got itself hitched" to delivering something which has cost "�100m just for the consultants' costs alone".

He adds: "So if anybody thinks the Tube is going to be modified to an acceptable standard and all the money that is going to be pumped into there is going to go into modernising the tube then think again.

"It's going to line companies' pockets, it's going to line directors' pockets, it's going to line shareholders' pockets, lawyers and consultants - all the scum of the earth that's involved in all these preparations.

"They are going to make a mass of money out of what I believe will be Londoners' misery at the end of the day and I don't think that's good government."