Sarah Everard inquiry chief in race to become first female Oxford chancellor

The senior lawyer who led the inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard is one step closer in the race to become the first female chancellor of Oxford University.

Lady Elish Angiolini, principal of St Hugh’s College in Oxford, chairwoman of the inquiry into Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens and Scotland’s former Lord Advocate, and Baroness Jan Royall, principal of Somerville College in Oxford, are among the five candidates still in the running for the historic position.

Former Conservative leader Lord William Hague, Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson and former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve have also progressed to the final round of the election.

It comes after Lord Patten announced that he would be retiring after more than 20 years in the position at the University of Oxford.

The list of 38 candidates who had successfully applied for the role – a post which has been in place at Oxford for 800 years – was revealed last month.

Imprisoned former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had applied for the role of chancellor but the former cricket star was “excluded” from the full list of candidates announced by the university, his aide had suggested.

More than 23,000 staff and alumni of the university voted online for the first time in the first round of the election for the chancellor, and voters had the opportunity to rank as many candidates as they chose.

The top five candidates announced on Tuesday will proceed to the second round of voting, which will take place in the week commencing November 18.

The new chancellor – who will be in post for a fixed term of no more than 10 years – will be announced in the week of November 25.

The chancellor is the titular head of the university and they preside over key ceremonies, and they also chair the committee to elect the vice-chancellor.