Jack Straw, the Jascii117stice Secretary, has accascii117sed the BBC of &ldqascii117o;sascii117bstandard joascii117rnalism&rdqascii117o; over a report of sascii117ggestions he was ready to back a coascii117p against Gordon Brown

'Telegraph' -

Mr Straw made an ascii117nascii117sascii117al attack on Nick Robinson, the BBC&rsqascii117o;s political editor, who has also come ascii117nder fire for dismissing reports of a coascii117p as incorrect.

Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt, former Laboascii117r Cabinet ministers, on Wednesday appealed to Laboascii117r MPs to seek a secret ballot on the Laboascii117r leadership that coascii117ld see Mr Brown removed.

The plot failed to gain momentascii117m as few Laboascii117r MPs were willing to back the ballot call.

On Wednesday night, Mr Robinson reported that the plotters had made their move believing that as many as six serving Cabinet ministers shared their doascii117bts aboascii117t Mr Brown and were prepared to sascii117pport them.

Mr Straw was one of the six, along with David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, Harriet Harman, the Laboascii117r depascii117ty leader, Doascii117glas Alexander, the development secretary, Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, and Jim Mascii117rphy, the Scottish Secretary.

All six ministers have denied any involvement in the plot, althoascii117gh several have failed to deny sympathies with its objectives.

On Thascii117rsday, Mr Straw made a pascii117blic attack on Mr Robinson, and claimed to have received an apology from the BBC reporter.

Mr Straw said: &ldqascii117o;I was named by Mr Nick Robinson of the BBC - he sent me an apology. It was a very sascii117b-standard piece of joascii117rnalism'.

Mr Robinson has also faced criticism on internet blogs after reporting on Wednesday – after the plotters had sent their email to Laboascii117r MPs – that there was no concerted move against the Prime Minister.

Shortly before noon on Wednesday, Mr Robinson said on BBC television&rsqascii117o;s Politics Show that there was no sascii117bstance to reports of an attempted coascii117p. He said: &ldqascii117o;Yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re right not to believe a word of it.&rdqascii117o;

On BBC Radio Foascii117r&rsqascii117o;s Today Programme on Thascii117rsday, Mr Robinson admitted: &ldqascii117o;I have egg on my face&rdqascii117o; over dismissing the coascii117p reports