Front-runner pulls out of e-envoy race

Norton, Institute of Directors' ecommerce boss, exclusively told silicon.com that he doesn't want the job, and is now offering his support to the Cabinet Office's director of industry, Richard Barrington.

Additionally, a source close to the situation has suggested civil service head of e-government Anne Steward, who had been tipped as a possible candidate for the job, has also ruled herself out of the contest.

The role of e-envoy is currently lying vacant since Alex Allan left the post at the end of last week for personal reasons.

Speaking to silicon.com, Norton said he did not want to become part of the contest, and is now supporting Richard Barrington's bid to become the new government IT evangelist. He added: "With the government's appointment of an interim e-envoy, it seems clear to me that it expects a long haul with this - it's not going to be over quickly. I can't afford to put my commitments on hold to wait for what might or might not happen with the e-envoy position."

Jim Norton wrote the ecommerce@itsbest white paper, which serves as the core of the government's ecommerce policy and he is thought to be upset at having not been offered the job last time.

The Cabinet Office today refused to comment on who might take up the role, which is vital to the government's vision of making the UK the best place in the world for ecommerce. Nor would it confirm whether Steward had withdrawn from the race.

Barrington confirmed he has received Norton's support, but would not comment on speculation regarding Steward.

Speaking to silicon.com, Barrington, who is currently on secondment from Sun Microsystems in the office of the e-envoy, said: "What this job needs is someone who can straddle the divide between government and industry. The civil service tends to follow the service ethos.

"The UK needs someone who can stand up and be counted when party policy runs counter to the country's best interests - for example in the first drafting of the RIP bill."

To vote for your candidate for e-envoy go to http://www.silicon.com/eenvoy .