News of the World editor Andy Coulson is understood to have turned down the Daily Mirror editorship, leading to speculation that an internal candidate will now get the job.
Coulson is said to have been called by MGN general manager Ellis Watson last week and offered the post on behalf of Trinity Mirror chief executive Sly Bailey. It is thought that he turned it down because, after 15 years with News International, he decided his career would be better served staying where he was.
Trinity Mirror said this week that no one had yet been offered the job.
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According to one source, half the internal candidates have been told they are not on the shortlist – leaving acting editor Des Kelly, editorial director Phil Hall, Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver and her deputy Richard Wallace still in contention.
Former editor Piers Morgan, sacked last month for publishing torture pictures, is believed to be negotiating a lucrative autobiography deal.
By Dominic Ponsford
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