Ministers are considering whether to nominate Liam Fox, the former international trade secretary, as Britain’s candidate to become the next head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Dr Fox is understood to be on a shortlist of candidates being drawn up in Whitehall before the deadline for a candidate next month.
He faces competition from Lord Mandelson, the Labour grandee and former EU trade commissioner, who has been lobbying other governments.
Phil Hogan, the former Irish minister and current EU trade commissioner, has been nominated by Dublin but other member states are at odds over his candidacy.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, are understood to want him to stay in Brussels. His departure would require a
