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Tony Blair ’s government allegedly threatened to stop co-operating with the BBC Today programme if the corporation did not “deal with” veteran broadcaster John Humphrys.

The presenter claims the ultimatum was given after he had a “lively exchange” with then social security secretary Harriet Harman during an interview on the Radio 4 show.

He claims: “An admittedly lively exchange with Harriet Harman, who was the social security secretary at the time, produced a response from Downing Street the like of which the programme had never generated before.

“It was a letter threatening to withdraw co-operation from Today unless something was done about what they called the “John Humphrys problem”.

“That letter foreshadowed a more confrontational relationship between Downing Street and journalists, especially in the BBC, over the years to come,” he said.