Diana memorial runs into impasse over Britart and EU rules

Almost five years after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, plans to build a memorial fountain have reached a stalemate because of a disagreement over who should design it and EU guidelines on how it should be chosen.

A committee that was to have picked a winner from more than 100 designs reached an impasse on Monday after its members split into groups supporting Anish Kapoor, the Britart sculptor, and Kathryn Gustafson, an American landscape architect.

Leading the fight for Ms Gustafson's "restrained and elegant" submission, backed by half of the eight-strong committee, is Rosa Monckton, the wife of Dominic Lawson, who edits The Sunday Telegraph. Ms Monckton was a close friend of the Princess of Wales and has canvassed for a design that she believes Diana would have liked.

In the other corner is James Lingwood, a renowned proponent of cutting edge Britart, sculpture and performance art. According to the London Evening Standard yesterday, Ms Monckton's faction was opposed to Kapoor's design, which was described as "striking but stark – possibly shocking", while Mr Lingwood's camp favoured it. They could not be separated during the meeting at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and finally decided to recommend that the Secretary of State for Culture, Tessa Jowell, "seek an appropriate way forward".

That, however, would probably involve her making a proposal to Gordon Brown, the Chancellor and chairman of the Diana memorial committee, who would choose a winner, a development that would undermine the decision to hold a judging process.

A source, described by the newspaper as being "close to the affair", said Ms Monckton had used her casting vote as the sub-committee chairwoman to rule in favour of Gustafson as long ago as 11 February.

However, Baroness Blackstone, the Culture minister, delayed ratifying that decision after being told by Kapoor supporters that the process had been flawed. Lawyers established that Ms Monckton had the right to cast a deciding vote, but pointed out that a simple show of hands did not meet European Union rules on tendering government contracts.

On Monday, the committee had to vote again, this time filling in complicated documents in which the two fountain projects were graded on grounds of ecology, appropriateness to their surroundings, quality and so on. Again the projects tied.

Ms Monckton said the committee had held a "constructive meeting" and had made a recommendation on an appropriate way forward. It is under- stood that despite the differences, there was no acrimony.

A budget of £3m has already been set aside for the construction, but the Government's intention to have it built at a site in Hyde Park by August next year now looks optimistic.

A department spokesman said Ms Jowell was considering the committee's proposal.