Stephen Bayley, who has resigned as the Dome's creative director, levelled the charge against Peter Mandelson.

Mr Bayley, a former lecturer, told the Sunday Telegraph he could have created a stunning exhibition for �100 million - �650 million less than the Dome's existing budget.

Peter Mandelson accused

He said that he had "serious belief in the idea as a whole, but no confidence in the management delivering it."

Mr Bayley, who resigned in December, added: "I don't like political interference and they don't like creative advice so it's completely undo-able from my point of view.

"There is a total mismatch between the creative impulse and political impulse."

Mr Bayley said he feared the Dome would be an embarrassing failure.

It is understood that the final straw for Mr Bayley was Mr Mandelson's trip to Disneyworld in Florida.

Mr Bayley said he had grown tired of his views being ignored by both Mr Mandelson and Millennium Commission chiefs.

He said: "The whole way it is being run is pure East Germany. I get memos from the Millennium Commission talking about the `creative task force.' It's awful ... and absolutely scary."

Meanwhile Mr Mandelson, the Minister without Portfolio, remains optimistic about the Dome project, in Greenwich, south east London, which has been dogged by controversy.

He says in The People newspaper that "there will be no event on a grander scale than the Millennium Experience at Greenwich."