Blair drops Queen Mother complaint

Downing Street does not plan to pursue complaints against two newspapers and a magazine over a report that Tony Blair attempted to "muscle in" on the Queen Mother's lying-in-state ceremony.

The matter has been resolved to Downing Street's satisfaction, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which has carried out an inquiry, is expected to announce today.

Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's communications and strategy chief, is reported to be satisfied that the PCC's investigation found that Mr Blair did not personally seek a more prominent place in the ceremony in Westminster Hall in April.

Letters between the PCC and Downing Street are expected to be published today.

But the announcement that Downing Street does not plan to push for a full adjudication is certain to be interpreted as a climbdown. The Mail on Sunday, the Evening Standard and The Spectator have consistently stood by their reports and will see it as a vindication of their decision to publish.

The reports were by the respected Westminster journalist Peter Oborne, who has written a biography of Mr Campbell. The move by Downing Street will be seen as a further attempt to draw the line under stories about relations between the Government and the media and spin.

The articles reported that a conversation took place between the Prime Minister's private secretary, Clare Sumner, and Black Rod, Sir Michael Willcocks, the parliamentary official who organised the ceremony.

Downing Street disputed that the conversation suggested that Mr Blair had tried to engineer a more prominent role in the ceremony in April. Ms Sumner told the PCC that the call was only designed to check protocol in advance.

She had found a document, written in 1994 after guidance from Buckingham Palace, saying the Queen Mother's coffin would be greeted at Westminster by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. But Black Rod told her the coffin would be greeted by the Speaker and the Lord Chancellor.

Ms Sumner said that was fine, according to No 10, which said that Mr Blair was unaware of these discussions. Sir Michael said in a statement: "At no stage was I asked to change the arrangements."

The case was the first Downing Street had referred to the PCC since it won a privacy ruling over Euan Blair's application to study at Oxford.

Downing Street said it was "forced to take this course" because "the idea that he would seek to exploit the death of the Queen Mother is totally without foundation and deeply offensive".