Four in the ring to chair M&S

MARKS & Spencer has shortlisted three external candidates to fill the post of chairman in the controversial battle for one of the top jobs in retailing.

Current chairman Paul Myners is also being considered for the post, but faces opposition from non-executives on the board, say company sources.

Last August, Myners agreed to stay on until July, but has since indicated that he wants to oversee the three-year recovery plan that chief executive Stuart Rose began last year.

But senior non-executive director Kevin Lomax has secured backing from fellow non-executives Steven Holliday, Jack Keenan and Anthony Habgood to complete a thorough search for a new chairman.

Sources close to the nonexecutives say they are concerned that Rose is too closely linked with Myners after they worked together in a bitter battle to see off a bid from retail billionaire Philip Green last year.

Archie Norman - outgoing MP for Tunbridge Wells and credited with rescuing Asda from financial catastrophe a decade ago - has been mentioned as a replacement for Myners, though friends of Norman played down the idea this weekend.

Rose has made it clear that 'Paul and I are joined at the hip'. And though the departure of Myners would be unlikely to provoke Rose's resignation, he has told close friends he would require a 'hip replacement' with whom he felt comfortable.