The BBC has "released a fix" to stop people downloading videos of its programmes unprotected by digital rights management.

It emerged yesterday that iPlayer content being streamed to iPhone and iPod Touch devices did not carry the Microsoft Windows Media DRM used by the service elsewhere.

That allowed some browsers to present a user agent stating they were a mobile version of Safari - the browser used on iPhone and iPod Touch - and therefore download the DRM-free programmes, and prompted reports the iPlayer had been "hacked".

However, the BBC said in a statement today: "We've released a fix to prevent unrestricted downloading of streamed TV programmes on BBC iPlayer.

"Like other broadcasters, the security of rights-protected content online is an issue we take very seriously. It's an ongoing, constant process and one which we will continue to monitor."