The BBC has said that a scene in Radio 4's rural soap The Archers in which two characters favourably discussed the Prime Minister's countryside policy was "inappropriate".

The programme hit the headlines after an episode last Tuesday when characters Tony and Pat Archer, who are organic farmers, gave an enthusiastic response to Tony Blair's speech to the National Farmers' Union.

They backed his pledge for a new partnership with producers - even though in reality, Mr Blair received a cool reception from farmers at the annual NFU conference.

Now the BBC is reminding the show's producers about the need to stick to guidelines to prevent further accusations of bias.

"The Archers, like all our drama serials, covers stories relevant to our audience and from time to time touches on very topical issues," said a BBC spokeswoman.

"It's the job of BBC writers to weave credible storylines around such issues.

"It's clear that the idea for the insert came from the programme team, but on this occasion the way the scene was depicted was inappropriate and we're taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo said: "It was only in the fictitious setting of The Archers that any farmer could have been enthusiastic about Tony Blair's speech to the NFU last week."