Anita Gale, the General Secretary of the Wales Labour Party, said she was putting arrangements in place to meet the three men currently regarded as being in the race before Monday's planned meeting of the Welsh Party Executive.

The three are: the new Welsh Secretary Alun Michael, MP Rhodri Morgan and Welsh Euro-MP Wayne David.

The proposed talks are part of a bid to find consensus around the leadership's preferred option of Mr Michael as leader with the other two as his deputies.

'No dice'

However, Mr Morgan has made it clear he is not willing to stand aside to allow party bosses to have their way.

Alun Michael: The leadership's choice

A BBC survey has also suggested the overwhelming majority of Labour's list of 148 approved candidates for the Welsh Assembly would pick Mr Morgan.

Mr Morgan said he would not object to a meeting designed to work out "how in general and on neutral ground do we sort out the matter in the best interests of the party.

"But if 'unity' is a code for Alun Michael's candidacy, it's no dice. If they are misusing and abusing the word to mean that Alun Michael must be given a clear run, it's completely preposterous," he said.

He said Mr Michael was not yet formally a candidate to be a member of the Welsh Assembly and presumably had yet to go through the selection process which those on the existing approved candidates' list had.

Alun Michael discusses his "team approach" for leadership of the Welsh Assembly

Asked on BBC One's Breakfast with Frost programme on Sunday whether he would serve under Mr Morgan if he prevailed in a vote, Mr Michael said: "The question that was put to me was, would I serve and lead a team approach. If that is not accepted then of course we have to have a competition.

"I made it quite clear earlier this week that I have put my hat into the ring to be the leader of the Assembly and I will take part in that election by whatever means are decided by the Labour Party in Wales."

'Maximum unity'

The issue of who will be Labour's candidate to be First Secretary in the Welsh Assembly arises from the resignation of Ron Davies, who quit as Welsh Secretary following an incident on London's Clapham Common.

Ms Gale said there was a "widespread feeling in the party that we need to explore whether there is a way forward on the leadership issue.

Wayne David: Leadership contender

"This should promote maximum unity in the party while avoiding distraction from our campaigning against the Tories, Nationalist and Liberals."

Earlier, George Wright, the General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union in Wales, and seen as a powerful political "fixer" there, backed the idea of Mr Michael as First Secretary with Mr Morgan and Mr David as deputies.

The party has yet to decide how the new leader will be chosen. One option, thought by some to be favourite, is a special conference of MPs, Assembly candidates, local parties and trade unionists.

Some want a one member-one vote ballot among all Welsh Labour Party members.

A special taskforce is due to meet at noon on Monday to finalise discussions on choosing the new leader, an hour ahead of the executive meeting.