BACK in the distant month of March, Mike Foster's Westminster office was asked to offer plot advice to The Archers.

A rural crisis was on the horizon in the fictional town of Ambridge, and the Radio Four show's producers wanted to know how Mike would handle such a situation.

His secretary Margaret - an avid fan - was delighted to help out.

But, as regular readers will remember, both she and Mike were sworn to secrecy on what was about to unfold.

Now, however, the storyline has finally hit the airwaves. The local doctor's surgery is closing!

That the cat is out of the bag is unremarkable.

But neither Mike nor Margaret had anticipated the consequences of their actions.

They had, it turned out, unwittingly helped to develop a storyline which would give Tony Blair a headache at Prime Minister's Questions.

The loss of the doctor's surgery in Ambridge, fumed Tory MP Alan Duncan this week, was symptomatic of a crisis in rural communities across Britain.

The villagers of Somerby in his own constituency had suffered the same fate as the Archers and residents would like to roast Mr Blair on a "spit".

People should not have to travel miles to find a doctor when they are ill, he said.

Mr Blair was able to hold his own, saying he couldn't comment on what was happening in Somerby (or, presumably, Ambridge).

But whenever the Tories started moaning, they should remember the fact that Labour was pouring money into the health service. The Tories, he claimed, were opposed to this.

The Prime Minister's successful defence did not stop Mike from feeling a bit guilty, however.

He said: "I missed the Archers reference in the bluster of the moment, but when I got back to the office, Margaret had certainly heard it.

"She was surprised, to say the least, and I couldn't help thinking that - in a roundabout way - we had put the PM in a bit of a spot."