Ex-Dome FD faces Commons quiz
Neil Spence, the former finance director of the New Millennium Experience Company, is set to be grilled by the Public Accounts Committee over his role in the Dome chaos.
Spence and three other senior officials involved with the Dome project will appear before the parliamentary committee on 15 November.
Their appearance will follow the publication of the National Audit Office’s report on the Dome, which is expected later this morning.
It is widely believed the report will be highly critical of those involved with the ill-fated Greenwich project, including ministers, civil servants and managers of the attraction.
Neil Spence resigned from the NMEC in September after trouble shooter David James brought in accountant John Darlington to assist him sort out the company’s finances.
Earlier PricewaterhouseCoopers had compiled a report which claimed the attraction would have been insolvent if it had not received its latest cash injection.
Reports by Deloitte & Touche indicated that the first projections for the number of 12 million visitors were overly optimistic.
Spence will be joined by Michael O’Connor, the director of the Millennium Commission, Robin Young, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and David James of the NMEC.
A decision on whether to sell the Dome site to Legacy is expected to be made by 14 November, the day before the hearings begin.
If the Legacy bid is rejected then fresh doubts will be thrown over the future of the site.