Did Blair hack the BBC?

A row has broken out over allegations that the BBC's computers were hacked by Downing Street officials trying to keep track of the Corporation's news coverage in the wake of Labour's General Election victory in 1997.

Veteran news reporter John Simpson alleges in his latest book, News from No Man's Land, which is being serialised in the Sunday Telegraph, that a number of colleagues were "morally certain" that their computers had been hacked in the months following Labour's landslide victory.

Simpson claims reporters were being approached by Downing Street officials about points which appeared in scripts written on the newsroom computer, before the reports had even been broadcast.

Following the latest revelations, Conservative MP David Davis demanded the BBC investigates the allegations thoroughly, stating: "The public needs to be reassured that the BBC has done all it can to ascertain whether any improper conduct has taken place."

In response, Downing Street was unrestrained in its dismissal of any accusations of impropriety - branding them "utter drivel" and "complete rubbish".

According to reports in the UK press, the BBC claims no formal investigation was launched into the affair, and refused to discuss any issues of security, but said its reporting remains "impartial" at all times.

The BBC newsroom switched computer systems shortly after the 1997 elections.