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Sebastian Coe front runner to chair the BBC Trust

Many Conservatives had seen the former London 2012 boss as the "dream candidate" to succeed Johnson as a future Mayor of London.

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Seb Coe would be 'first rate choice' for the BBC

I think it's fantastic news for the BBC and British broadcasting.

Seb Coe is a great leader, I've worked with him a lot over the last few years and I think he'll demand very high standards of the BBC.

I think he'll be exactly in the right tradition of British broadcasting.

A first rate choice.

– Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
  1. Simon Harris: Political Correspondent

Senior London Tories 'regard Coe as Boris successor'

Senior London Tories are thought to regard Coe as Johnson's "natural successor" with a broad appeal beyond traditional Conservative voters. But their efforts to persuade him to change his mind and stand in 2016 have so far come to nothing.

Credit: PA

Coe has previously indicated his ambitions lie in international sport. He's widely tipped to be the next president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, a job which includes a prestigous place on the IOC.

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  1. Simon Harris: Political Correspondent

Sebastian Coe front runner to chair the BBC Trust

Sebastian Coe's new status as frontrunner to chair the BBC Trust creates a fresh dilemma for London Tories in their search for the next Boris Johnson.

Many Conservatives see the former London 2012 boss as the "dream candidate" to succeed Johnson as a future Mayor of London.

Credit: PA

The current mayor - who has ruled himself out of standing for a third term - today welcomed Lord Coe's emergence as the hot tip to run the BBC's watchdog.

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