Dome minister Lord Falconer last night insisted that he would not resign despite a National Audit Office report that is highly critical of the project's management. The report said the projection of 12 million visitors was "ambitious and inherently risky" and that project management had been hindered by weak financial control.

The Conservatives claimed that the report showed that Lord Falconer had "misled" parliament by saying that the dome was trading solvently. Shadow culture secretary Peter Ainsworth said Falconer is "is either a fool or a knave" and "either way his position is untenable". According to the Independent, the story of the "most disastrous public project in a generation" has been told in the language of a "slightly bitchy accountant". The FT concludes the project was "doomed from start". Sacked Dome chief, Bob Ayling, apologised "unreservedly" for his role in the project's flop.