The Minister Without Portfolio, Peter Mandelson, has outlined the improvements needed for transport links to the Millennium Experience exhibition in Greenwich, south-east London.

Mr Mandelson was speaking in the House of Commons for the first time since July 1996 in a five-minute question-time slot restricted to issues surrounding the Millennium Dome. He was barracked from the opposition Conservative benches.

He said enjoyment of the Millenium Experience should not be blighted by delays to road, rail or river journeys. He said he wanted the 12 million people expected to turn up to the event to be treated to a "once-in-a-lifetime experience, full of excitement".

The Millennium Experience Company has set up a pre-booking scheme to help guarantee access to the attractions, he said.

He promised that links to the Greenwich site would be improved by the extension to the London Underground Jubilee Line and by new riverboat services.

And he told MPs that decisions on new park-and-sail facilities were expected in December. One million people were expected to travel by boat from central London and from the east of the site, he added.

When asked by the Opposition how river transport would be improved in general, Mr Mandelson said new piers at Greenwich and elsewhere were part of a permanent project to increase use of the River Thames.

Mr Mandelson, whose main responsibility is for the strategic implementation and presentation of Government policy, faced a boisterous House throughout his appearance at the despatch box.

Conservative MP, Francis Maude, told him that, "at the rate of answering one question every six months, we can be sure you won't outstay your welcome".
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Excerpts from Peter Mandelson's question time

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