THE Tories have demanded to know what Foreign Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw knew about the United Nations bugging scandal.

Mr Straw is officially in charge of both MI6 and the GCHQ listening centre and would have to agree to any covert operations at the UN headquarters in New York.

The Government is caught up in allegations about British spying on the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and chief weapons inspectors Hans Blix and Richard Butler.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans is demanding that the Blackburn MP reveal what he authorised MI6 and GCHQ to do.

However Mr Straw was staying tight-lipped and refusing to discuss the matter. The scandal started when former international development secretary Clare Short revealed that Mr Annan's telephone conversations had been bugged by British Intelligence and that she had read transcripts of them.

The UN immediately condemned the move and it was revealed that the two weapons inspectors had had their mobile phone conversations intercepted.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope is calling for Clare Short to be kicked out of the Parliamentary Labour Party over her claims.

He has tabled an early day Motion in the Commons attacking her comments saying they clearly break the Official Secrets Act.

Although she is not named in the text -- published on the House of Commons Order Paper sent to all MPs, ministers and senior civil servants -- the reference to Privy Councillors not breaking their duty of confidentiality on security issues is clearly aimed at the ex-international development secretary. Commenting on the Motion which will appear on the Order Paper, on Monday, Mr Pope said: "Clare Short has clearly broken the Official Secrets Act and the duty of confidentiality over intelligence matters that applies to Cabinet ministers and former Cabinet ministers. "I shall be urging the Chief Whip to consider kicking Clare out of the Parliamentary Labour Party."