Could Lord Ashdown and other non-Conservatives be offered roles in a Cameron administration?

There was a somewhat intriguing joint byline in the FT this morning with William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and former Lib Dem leader, Lord Ashdown, co-authoring a piece about the need for the West to continue to take a keen interest in what's happening in Bosnia.

It was there that the latter was formerly UN High Representative - and his political adviser whilst in that post was of course one Ed Llewellyn, now Chief of Staff to David Cameron.

It got me wondering whether there is now a possibility that Lord Ashdown could yet find himself offered a role in a Cameron administration - in some advisory or ambassadorial role, or even directly as a minister.

For that matter, who else from other political parties could be approached about serving a Conservative government in some capacity?

Boris Johnson already has Labour MP Kate Hoey serving as his Commissioner for Sport.

What about Frank Field, whose contribution to the debates on welfare and immigration have generally found favour in Conservative circles? Or Lord Adonis, whose views on education and transport (the two ministries in which he has served) chime with the Conservative leadership (just today he was promoting high speed rail in The Times).

Or could any of the economically-liberal "Orange Book" Lib Dems be persuaded to serve David Cameron? The names of Somerset MPs David Laws and Jeremy Browne would probably be top of any list of those likely to be approached.

Is there anyone else who should be borne in mind?

Jonathan Isaby