The high-profile role of director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to come up for grabs as incumbent chief Robert Wardle prepares to stand down in April next year.

Wardle began a five-year term in April 2003, having been with the body for 15 years. Since then he has presided over a number of headline-hitting investigations, including into defence giant BAE Systems’ business dealings with Saudi Arabia.