Who is Robert Peston’s ‘senior government source’?

Earlier this year, a ‘government source’ floated the idea that Sebastian Coe could well be appointed the next chairman of the BBC Trust. It’s no secret that George Osborne and Seb Coe go back a long way –  they both used to work together in William Hague’s private office. And while Osborne has never officially stated that he would support the appointment of his friend, both he and Cameron are reportedly keen on the idea.

That appointment is a ‘virtual shoo-in’, writes the BBC’s Robert Peston, who is currently in India with Osborne and Hague. According to a senior government source, ‘Lord Coe is widely and snootily under-rated “as that bloke who won some gold medals”’. Mr S wonders who this senior government source could be….

Were he in a more cynical mood, Mr S may well suggest it was Osborne himself, feeding Peston a masala of delicious titbits while on tour in order to bolster Coe’s chances.