Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has reportedly turned down an offer from British prime minister-to-be Gordon Brown to be Northern Ireland Secretary
Current Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain is bidding to be deputy leader of the Labour Party. Speculation has been growing on both sides of the Irish Sea that Mr Hain will be reshuffled once Tony Blair leaves Downing Street.
According to BBC reports, the chancellor, Mr Brown, approached Lord Ashdown about the prospect of him taking the Northern Ireland job.
But in a statement, Lord Ashdown informed Mr Brown: "I could not conceivably consider such a position unless my leader told me that he thought it was a good idea and even if he did, I didn't."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell also rebuffed an approach by Mr Brown to have members of his party join Labour in the government.
Democratic Unionist MP Gregory Campbell was surprised at claims that the Northern Ireland post was offered to the Lib Dem peer in Mr Brown's first cabinet.
He claimed that if the Lord Ashdown, who is heading a review of parades in Northern Ireland, had accepted the job, it would have been interpreted as an attempt by the incoming prime minister to keep Northern Ireland at arm's length.