A MULTI-MILLION-POUND refurbishment programme of the Metro should have been started earlier, according to Transport Minister Norman Baker during a visit to the region.

Yesterday, the minister saw first-hand the progress made on the 11-year £385m project, which is being mostly funded by the Government.

He told The Journal that he was “disappointed” that the previous Labour administration had not given the project a green light sooner.

“We have been playing catch-up after years of delay which could have been avoided,” he said.

It was 2007 when Metro bosses first unveiled plans to modernise the 30-year-old transport system.

It was given the go-ahead by Labour in February 2010 – just a few months before the General Election.

But the minister’s comments kicked up a political storm.