The BBC's Director General Mark Thompson has demanded an explanation after Sky News was featured in an episode of Spooks.

According to the Daily Star, senior executives at the corporation were left confused about why BBC News 24 was not used instead.

Five members of the Sky team, including political editor Adam Boulton, were shown on screen in the episode.

"It's a definite own goal - how crazy to plug a rival news operation," one source explained. "Some top people within the BBC are far from amused."