Before throwing its weight behind Ban Ki Moon, the South Korean in the leading position to succeed Kofi Annan, the Government set out conditions that included the promise of top jobs for British officials.

The “unseemly” horse trading also involved other countries, according to diplomatic sources. It took place behind closed doors before Mr Ban cleared the latest hurdle — an informal straw poll of the 15-strong Security Council — earlier this week.

“It was like the European states carving up Africa in the 19th century,” one diplomat at the UN said. “The very same countries that lecture the UN on the need to reform and to make appointments based on merit were the ones pressing for their candidates to be given top jobs.”

Mr Ban, the South Korean Foreign Minister, is expected to be confirmed next week by formal vote after several rounds of arcane polling by the Security Council. When a new secretary-general is appointed, all UN under-secretaries will resign to allow the new man to assemble his own team.

The five permanent Security Council members — Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States — all have the power of veto, and have used this to press their cases for plum posts for their officials. Sir Emyr Jones Parry, the British envoy to the UN, told Mr Ban this month that early in his tenure Britain would put forward the names of at least two “outstanding” candidates for top posts in the secretariat.

In particular, the British want to reclaim the job of under-secretary-general for the Department of Political Affairs, responsible for all the main international crises, including the Middle East, Iran, North Korea and other flashpoints.

“The British made it clear to Ban Ki Moon that this was a condition for their support,” said another source, who added that the same negotiations took place when Mr Annan became Secretary-General.

The political post was held by three successive British diplomats — Sir Brian Urquhart, Sir Marrack Goulding and Sir Kieran Prendergast — but is currently held by Ibrahim Gambari, of Nigeria.

Similar representations have been made by other nations. France wants to retain control of the peacekeeping department, Japan wants to secure humanitarian affairs, and America, China and Russia all expect senior posts for their staff.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the South Korean Embassy in London yesterday both denied that a deal had been cut. “Our support for Mr Ban was based on his credentials for the job,” a Foreign Office spokesman said.

A diplomat at the embassy said that the allegations were “groundless”. However, the Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that Britain would be seeking important posts. “We would like there to be UK nationals at senior levels of the UN,” he said.

Sir Emyr, who had been tipped for a UN post when he retires next year, has ruled himself out of the running.

The possibilities are Sir Derek Plumbly, the Ambassador to Cairo, David Richmond, the head of defence and intelligence at the Foreign Office, and Ian Cliff, the Ambassador to Khartoum. All three diplomats previously served in the British mission at the UN, which is regarded as a pre- requisite to secure a UN job.

Two Britons currently serve in senior UN posts: Mark Malloch-Brown, a former journalist and veteran UN official, the Deputy Secretary-General, and Sir David Veness, a former senior Scotland Yard officer, the UN under-secretary-general for safety and security.

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