The Labour Party has to stop fighting "like rats in a sack" about the funding of the 2012 Olympics in London and "shut up" until the final budget is sorted out, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesman has said.
Don Foster called for an end to arguments about cost figures for the Games after a week which has seen London Mayor Ken Livingstone publicly disagree with Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.
Mr Foster warned that public confidence in the Olympic project was already "ebbing away" and the country would face "serious difficulties" if the in-fighting didn't end soon.
He told GMTV: "This is nonsense arguing going on. We have got two different Government departments, we have got Ken Livingstone, we have got the Leader of the House, all acting like rats in a sack fighting each other. This isn't what it should be about".
The situation had become "ludicrous" with figures flying around although no finalised budget has been put forward, the culture spokesman added.
He continued: "Nobody knows where we stand and confidence in our ability to deliver the Olympics is sadly ebbing away when it is going to be absolutely fantastic. We should be celebrating it and I wish people frankly would shut up."
Everyone is losing confidence but the solution is simply for "everybody to shut up and get the final figures sorted out", Mr Foster said.
He called for a proper budget, which would then be independently audited and presented to Parliament and the people.
The current "crazy situation" was entirely of the Government's own making and it was in danger of "spinning out of control", he continued, warning: "If confidence ebbs away at the rate it is doing at the moment then I think we are in serious difficulties."
The Liberal Democrat also said that he did not want any additional burden on London council tax payers or an additional take from Lottery good causes to fund the spiralling costs of the Olympic project. He argued that the vast majority of the costs were for regeneration and should be paid for by the private sector.
