The area is earmarked for 120,000 new homes and 180,000 new jobs

Just 13% of 100 "stakeholders" quizzed by consultants Hornagold and Hills rated the leadership by Mr Prescott's team as "effective" or "broadly ok".

The deputy prime minister has earmarked land stretching from London's Docklands to Southend in Essex and Sheerness in Kent for 120,000 new homes by 2016.

A new chief executive would drive through the plans, the government said.

The 80,000 hectare Thames Gateway area is one of four regions picked for significant new housing, employment and infrastructure in the South East.

...There's probably more like a chasm of leadership and everybody feels that now is the time to fill it... Stan Hornagold, Report author

Report author Stan Hornagold said organisations involved in the project were unclear about their role.

"It is reasonably obvious to everybody that there is a gap," he said.

"In fact there's probably more like a chasm of leadership and everybody feels that now is the time to fill it, to try and build up momentum," he said.

"You can have a wide variety of organisations, in fact you must have that to deliver something as complex as Thames Gateway and the difference between the regions involved, but the roles and responsibilities of the organisations simply isn't clear."

'Amazing things'

But Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said the report made clear Mr Prescott was "the one person singled out for effective leadership within the Thames Gateway - without whom it would not have got going".

"Already amazing things are happening - the Olympics will be a real boost for the area," she said.

We also think we need a new boost to delivery so momentum continues in the next phase Yvette Cooper, Housing Minister

"We should also be clear that London would not have won the 2012 Games without the powerful plan for regeneration across the area already in place."

She said the government did, however, agree with the report that the Thames Gateway was too diverse to have a single organisation trying to deliver all the projects and plans.

"We also think we need a new boost to delivery so momentum continues in the next phase.

"That is why we have plans under way to advertise for a new chief executive figure in February to drive forward the next phase of the programme and coordinate the public and private sector investment across the area."

The report follows comments by architect Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force in November complaining of "a lack of vision" and "overweight decision-making structures" in Mr Prescott's urban regeneration projects.

Conservative regeneration spokesman Alistair Burt said the report "exposes the complete failure of leadership from John Prescott".

"As the Millennium Dome still reminds us, no project succeeds with such a mess at the top."