The first attempted sale of the Millennium Dome was a failure and led to a £30 million maintenance bill for taxpayers, the National Audit Office says today.

However, the public spending watchdog adds that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies have finally managed to put together a deal that offers the taxpayer value for money.

It said the plans to build 10,000 new houses, as well as offices, research and industry buildings, will help regenerate the area and that the taxpayer would recoup £216 million in real terms over the course of the deal.

Shadow London minister Mark Field said the building "stands as a monument to Labour's incompetence in building, running and now selling of the failed project".