Former minister still considered favourite, but political backlash could land Richard Lambert or Patricia Hodgson with role
The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has interviewed candidates for the job of BBC Trust chair and is understood to have submitted the name of his preferred candidate to the prime minister, as rightwing Conservative backbenchers mount a rearguard action to stop Lord Patten from getting the job.
Sources said that "No 10 is now deliberating" on the successor to Sir Michael Lyons and an announcement as to who will fill the �110,000-a-year role is expected next week ? with Patten, the former Conservative cabinet minister, still considered to be the favourite.
David Cameron will have to decide who takes the position in the coming days, with former CBI director general Sir Richard Lambert also in the running, while Dame Patricia Hodgson, the principal of Newnham College, is hoping that Conservative backbench support could yet propel her into the role.
The Conservative party's traditional Eurosceptic lobby, which includes John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, who challenged John Major for leadership of the party in 1995, is unhappy with the selection of an old-style Tory "wet" and Europe enthusiast.
One senior Conservative MP, who asked not to be named said: "If the BBC post goes to another pro-European then there is little chance of him curbing the BBC's own bias in approach towards Europe."
They are also concerned at the selection of a "one nation"-style Conservative, with whom moderate Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs feel comfortable. Although Labour is not delighted with the prospect of a Conservative getting the job, senior party sources believe he is a big figure who would be able to stand up for the BBC.
John Whittingdale, Tory MP and chair of the Commons culture media and sport select committee, is also privately questioning whether Patten is the right person to act a an effective regulator of the BBC, and handle its governance issues. He is thought to favour the appointment of Lambert.
However, Whittingdale is avoiding making public comments, as his committee will hold a "pre-appointment hearing" for Cameron's chosen candidate on 10 March. The committee will issue a report saying whether it supports the appointment or not.
Patten was in New Delhi on Thursday, in his role as chancellor of Oxford University, promoting the institution's humanities courses in India.
A spokeswoman for Hunt's Department for Culture, Media and Sport would not comment on the precise status of the race for the job, saying only that the process was ongoing.
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Source: http://feeds.guardian.co.uk/~r/theguardian/media/rss/~3/EMc4Ut6dsOg/bbc-trust-chris-patten
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