Foreign Office plays down report of EU role for Miliband

LONDON (Reuters) - The Foreign Office played down a German newspaper report on Sunday that Foreign Secretary David Miliband would move to Brussels to become European Union foreign affairs chief.

The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, citing unnamed "high-ranking EU diplomats", reported that Miliband was set to become the EU's next high representative for foreign and security policy next year, succeeding Javier Solana.

It said Miliband, at 42 a leading young figure in the Labour Party, had the support of countries including France to take on the EU role.

A Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment directly on the German newspaper report, but said Miliband was focusing on his current job.

"The foreign secretary is fully focussed on being foreign secretary," the spokesman said.