Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday brushed off widespread speculation that national police chief Kowit Wattana was about to be dismissed, saying that there had not been any attempt to remove the police general.

"I insist there have not been any attempts made to remove him. If he doesn't make any mistake there will be no dismissal," Surayud said, after his return to Bangkok from Pattani province.

Rumours had been spreading all day that Kowit was set to be removed, allegedly due to his original reluctance to join the September 19 coup. He would reportedly then become a third deputy prime minister, possibly on national security - a new position to be created to accommodate him as a compromise for his dismissal.

Kowit was a deputy chairman of the now-defunct Council for Democratic Reform, which staged the military coup, but is now just a member of the Council for National Security (CNS).

Certain CNS members are rumoured to be unhappy with a transfer order endorsed by Kowit that would see officers with close ties to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra still holding significant positions.

Another reason is the slow progress in proceeding with lese majeste complaints lodged against Thaksin. Four cases have been dropped by criminal courts, allegedly due to weak investigative reports by the police.

CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin earlier dismissed the speculation, saying the removal of a national police chief could be ordered only by a prime minister, who is the ex-officio chairman of the Police Commission.

A PM's Office Ministry source said Kowit's successor had been selected - Pol General Phatcharawat Wongsuwan, a deputy to Kowit and a younger brother of General Prawit Wongsuwan, a member of the National Legislative Assembly and a former Army commander-in-chief.

Unconfirmed reports said the transfer order had been prepared and required only Surayud's signature to make it effective.

Surayud reportedly made a phone call to the PM's Office Ministry to halt the entire dismissal process just before he boarded his plane at Pattani.

Before making the last-minute phone call, Surayud reportedly discussed the matter with Sonthi and told him that dismissal would signal disunity among members of the CNS, a setback that would make his job as prime minister even more difficult.

Police spokesman Pol Lt-General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said earlier he had no idea about the dismissal rumour, but vowed to quit the police himself if Kowit was really dismissed.

Air Chief Marshal Chalit Phukphasuk, a CNS deputy chairman, said earlier that it was never easy to dismiss a national police chief and that in his view, Kowit was a hard-working man.