Mr Chris Patten withdrew from the race to become president of the European Union's Commission today after the bloc's leaders failed to resolve a bitter row over potential candidates.
"He won't be allowing his name to go forward any further," said Ms Emma Udwin, a spokeswoman for Patten, who is currently the EU's external affairs commissioner.
The other frontrunner for the post, Belgian Prime Minister Mr Guy Verhofstadt, also took himself out of the frame last night after unyielding opposition from Britain and other member states which dislike his federalist vision of EU integration.