BOOKMAKERS tonight (Tuesday, November 6) suspended betting on the Bishop of Durham becoming the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Justin Welby has long been one of the front-runners for the Lambeth Palace post despite saying he had "neither the experience nor the desire" to take on the job, but, after a flood of money was this afternoon placed on him succeeding Dr Rowan Williams, both Ladbrokes and William Hill halted proceedings.

The odds on the Bishop, who spent 11 years in the oil industry before joining the clergy, crashed dramatically as a result, taking him from 13/8 second favourite to 4/6 favourite in less than 60 minutes.

“In the space of less than an hour we had to cut the odds three times, so took the decision to close the book as we know a decision is already overdue and it seems word may have leaked out,” said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.

Ladbrokes echoed its rival’s comments, saying its market analysts had spotted several significant wagers being placed. Much of the activity is believed to have come from new accounts, a sign in the business that someone, somewhere knows something.

The decision on who will taken over as Anglicanism’s lead figure when Dr Williams steps down next month has been a long, drawn out affair.

The 16-strong Crown Nominations Committee has met several times this year to discuss the pros and cons of each of the candidates, who number among them the Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth, the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, the Bishop of Norwich, Graham James, and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

Tonight, neither a spokesman for the Bishop of Durham, nor a spokeswoman for Lambeth Palace would comment on the news or whether any announcement was imminent.

However, Alex Donohue, of Ladbrokes, said he was fairly sure a decision was due to be made, given today’s pattern of activity.

“There was a steady stream of bets for (the Bishop of Durham) today, at the exclusion of everyone else,” he said. “Whenever you see those kind of runs of bets it is very prudent as a bookmaker to pull it down because you think that an announcement is about to be made.

“People were betting today like they knew.

“Let’s be honest, with markets like this, there’s never going to be a fortune (placed on it). The average stakes are £5 or £10, but there were a couple of bets of £100 or £200 in there which raised eyebrows, but we were still happy to take them. It wasn’t so much the volume of money, more the steady stream of money for him at the exclusion of the entire field that prompted us to take the decision.”