It was expected that this would be rubber-stamped following her recommendation by the interviewing panel but several fellow members of the House of Lords, where, though an acknowledged Labour supporter, she sits as an outspoken crossbencher, have raised objections, citing her fierce criticism of the Government's disability pension reforms.

They feel she might be "too political" for the job.

I understand there is also concern in Whitehall that despite the recommendation of the panel, whose report was presented by former London 2012 vice-chairman Sir Keith Mills, Baroness Tanni does not have sufficient experience of leading a major sports organisation or administering a budget the size of the Government quango's £300 million ($457 million/€350 million).

Cameron himself is believed to be open-minded and his dilemma is that vetoing her appointment would be perceived in sport, where the pioneering Paralympian is such an iconic figure, as a political stitch-up.

Those Tory peers opposing her do not include Sebastian Coe or his predecessor as British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan, who are both supportive.

In fact, Coe was one of her referees and he spent some time with Cameron on Friday (April 19) afternoon pressing her claims.

"She would make an ideal chairman," he has told insidethegames.

The Sports Minister Hugh Robertson is also fighting her corner but it seems the prospects of her now getting the job are in the balance.


Her chief rival is the sports lawyer Nick Bitel, whom is in charge of today's London Marathon as the race organisation's chief executive.

He is a long-serving member of the Sport England Board.

However, it is possible Cameron may ask for the application process to be re-visited to draw out fresh candidates.

The Government's preference would be for Sir Keith himself to take the job but he is keen to be a candidate for the chairmanship of the Premier League.

Baroness Tanni, 43, who won 11 Paralympic gold medals as a wheelchair racer, and has a degree in politics, originally had been seen as favourite to take over from fellow left-leaning peer Baroness Sue Campbell at UK Sport after she made it known she was applying for the vacant part-time roles both there and at Sport England.

"I'm not sure if it's going to go in my favour or against me that I couldn't decide which box to tick," she said at the time.

"I'd be flattered to get either post."

In the end she opted for the latter because of her empathy with sport's grassroots.

Ministers consider Sport England the more important appointment because of the need to bring strategic leadership to a body whose future had been under threat and which must cement the London 2012 legacy at participation level.

Overseeing the Government's £150 million ($228 million/€175 million) infusion of cash into school sports also has become a post-Games priority.


The recommendations for both posts were reviewed by Culture Secretary Maria Miller and officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and passed to 10 Downing Street over a week ago.

The Prime Minister's office says one of the reasons for the delay is that he had had a busy week, which has included the funeral of Lady Margaret Thatcher.

"The process of appointing the Sport England chair is completely fair," a DCMS spokesman said.

"It is focused solely on recruiting the best person with the right attributes to serve grassroots sport and deliver a lasting sports legacy from London 2012.

"We will make an announcement in due course."

It is likely a decision will be made early this week.

While Baroness Tanni's hopes of becoming the new chair of Sport England may be scuppered by Tory peer pressure, it seems to be plain sailing for Rod Carr, the former chief executive of the Royal Yachting Association (RYA), who, as insidethegames has revealed, is set to be named for the similarly vacant post at UK Sport this week.

Carr is regarded as the architect of Britain's outstanding successes in Olympic sailing over the past decade.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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