...while Havel expresses annoyance with "emotive" debate

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has also commented on the matter. He has described Jan Kaplicky's design as interesting and original. Mr Havel said he was annoyed by what he called the very emotive debate surrounding the design. But he said city authorities should have launched a debate on how to rebuild the whole of Letna before the tender for the National Library building.

The International Union of Architects is looking into the tender process, after some claims that Mr Kaplicky's winning design did not meet all the conditions.