"A source not connected to Thompson said he had had two meetings in London over the past four weeks about the vacant New York Times Company chief executive role – and that the meetings appeared to be part of a "co-ordinated attempt" by the US newspaper publisher to hire Thompson," they write.

In March, Mr. Thompson, Mr. 54 announced that he would step down from his post atop BBC, one of the highest paid public sector jobs in the U.K., after the summer Olympics in London. His wife, the writer Jane Blumberg, is American.