BRITISH PRIME minister Gordon Brown may withdraw support from Tony Blair's still-undeclared candidacy for the presidency of the European Council before European Union leaders meet in Brussels tomorrow.
Last night there were clear signals in London that Downing Street has begun to accept that Mr Blair has little chance of getting sufficient backing for the post.
However, the British government will not attempt to produce a last-minute candidate for the High Representative on Foreign and Security Policy post.
Instead, London, which is deeply concerned by EU attempts to regulate the financial industry, may insist that a British candidate is selected to replace former Irish minister for finance Charlie McCreevy as commissioner for the internal market.
The British have long coveted the post, sources in London have said privately, because they believe that plans circulating in Brussels could cause billions of pounds worth of damage to the Britain's financial hub in London.
The Swedish EU presidency would prefer if only one candidate for each post was advanced to EU leaders when they meet. However, this is still far from agreed given the divisions that have emerged on the issue.
Privately, the British government and officials have been scathing about the process, with one describing it as "a shambles, that will probably result in the choice of a Belgian that no one has ever heard of".
On Monday, Mr Brown's spokesman insisted that the prime minister still supported Mr Blair for the EU presidency post, though with the qualifier that this depended upon Mr Blair actually wanting the post.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary William Hague urged Mr Brown to drop his support for Mr Blair and instead concentrate on securing a top economic post in the commission.
Mr Brown's decision to back Mr Blair so publicly had been a mistake and simply showed that Mr Brown's "diminished authority" had placed him under the influence of Peter Mandelson, Mr Blair's long-time ally.
Relations between Mr Brown and fellow socialist leaders elsewhere in the European Union have been soured by the haggling over the two posts, given the level of opposition displayed by many towards Mr Blair.
Foreign secretary David Miliband, who would have got the backing of major powers for the high representative position if he had wanted it, had a heated conversation with former Danish prime minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen on the issue.
During a meeting of the Fabian Society in London last week, Mr Miliband was said by some officials to have been "seething" after the Dane had made it clear that European socialists would never back Mr Blair.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that Mr Blair will have to give evidence to the Iraq war inquiry in London early next year, though he will be called back after the general election for more detailed questioning.
The inquiry's chairman, Sir John Chilcot, said that the first session beginning next week would hear public evidence from senior officials and military officers "about their main decisions and tasks, and their involvement".
Ministers, including Mr Blair, will be called in January and early February. A further round of public sessions will then be held in the middle of next year.
