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UK minister says Millennium Dome a 'disaster'

millennium dome
London's Millennium Dome  

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- It was open season on London's beleaguered Millennium Dome on Friday as a government minister broke cabinet ranks and called it a "disaster."

International Development Secretary Clare Short was the first cabinet minister to criticise the cash-guzzling attraction in such harsh terms.

Short said late on Thursday that the project, which has swallowed up nearly one billion pounds ($1.45 billion) of public funds, had been a flop and should be sold off as quickly as possible.

"I never liked it. It was nearly a billion and it was a disaster," Short said, in a marked departure from the supportive stance taken by the rest of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, which is struggling to find a buyer for the Dome.

Culture Minister Chris Smith said on Friday that Short's view was "fair enough." He told BBC radio's Today programme that there always had been a wide variety of views in the cabinet on the Dome.

Far from living up to Blair's wish that the Dome should be "the greatest show on earth," the attraction, which has seen visitor numbers well below forecasts, has been a major embarrassment to the government.

A consortium led by Japanese investment bank Nomura (8604.T) had intended to buy the Dome for 105 million pounds at the end of the year, but pulled out, saying it had been misled about the terms of the sale.

Police are investigating fraud allegations centring on one of the contractors who worked for the Dome's operator, the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), after doubts over ownership of some of the Dome's assets emerged.

The Dome's finance director, Neil Spence, resigned on Thursday. He was the first top executive to go after trouble shooter David James was brought in this month to save the attraction from early closure.

One of James's first comments after his appointment was to say that the Dome should probably never have been built.

Smith, the culture minister, was not shocked to hear Short's view and declined to criticise her for it.

"She's expressed an honest view, and fair enough. It's widely known that there is a variety and there always has been a variety of views in the cabinet on the decision to go ahead with the Dome," Smith said.

"My principal objective now is to make sure we have an orderly conclusion to the year of Dome's life and get the best possible value for the public purse out of any subsequent disposal," Smith told BBC.

The opposition Conservative Party has repeatedly called for the vast structure in Greenwich, southeast London to be shut.

While Nomura's consortium had planned to operate the Dome as an amusement park, its new prospective bidder, Legacy Plc, headed by entrepreneur Robert Bourne, wants to turn it into a hi-tech business park.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



RELATED STORIES:
Fraud inquiry at London's Millennium Dome
September 19, 2000
Troubled London Dome bailed out again
September 13, 2000
London Dome deserted by Japanese bank
September 12, 2000
Prince praises palace, dismisses Dome
September 8, 2000
Millennium Dome tickets go on sale
September 23, 1999

RELATED SITES:
The Millennium Experience
Unofficial site - the Dome

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