THE battle of wills over boardroom seats at Corus reached fever pitch last night as the company turned down the advances of businessman Alisher Usmanov.

The Russian entrepreneur is tenacious in his desire to get a representative on the steelmaker's board. His company, Gallagher Holdings, has nominated Adrianus van der Velden for the post.

The proposition of the former executive director of Hoogovens, the Dutch company that merged with British Steel to form Corus, raised fears of a potential coup for the control of Corus.

The Anglo-Dutch steelmaker yesterday refuted any suggestion that outsiders were trying to pull the rug from under its restructuring plans.

But the spectre of Mr van der Velden, who reportedly left the company in less than amicable circumstances, raised concerns about Mr Usmanov's motives.

Jim Leng, Corus chairman, described the move as an unwelcome distraction.

The company sent a letter to shareholders urging them to reject Mr Usmanov's overtures.

The water was further muddied when Mr Leng revealed yesterday that an 11th hour meeting between the two sides was called off by Gallagher half-an-hour before it was due to take place.

Mr Usmanov, Corus's second biggest shareholder behind US investment company Brandes, is thought to have chosen Mr van der Velden because of his experience in turning round businesses.

But Corus said its own strategy, under the leadership of chief executive Philippe Varin, was delivering improvements.

Mr Leng said: "The proposal is an unwelcome distraction to the management when they are concentrating on the plans for restoring success within Corus.

"Today, we have a strong and united board whose members have been selected on merit and represent an appropriate balance of skills and international experience.

"In line with best corporate governance practice, we believe board members should be working in the interests of all shareholders rather than individuals."

Mr Varin said the company had been working with Gallagher to explore potential partnerships with Mr Usmanov's iron and steel works.

When questioned by The Northern Echo, he refused to say if the Russian was a potential joint venture partner for Teesside Cast Products when the region's steelworks go it alone in the international market from 2006.

But he did confirm that discussions were continuing with a number of interested parties that could potentially save steelmaking on Teesside.

Corus is expected to update shareholders on its trading progress at Thursday's annual meeting.