Bosses from British American Tobacco held "secret" meetings with Tony Blair and former trade secretary Stephen Byers in a bid to block an investigation into the company's conduct, the Guardian reports.

It says that the company was lobbying "behind the back of parliament and public".

Plans for an investigation into the way in which cigarettes are sold were then watered down, claims the paper.

The results of the review were "buried" for almost four years and no action was taken, adds the paper.

A spokesman for BAT said the company had acted legally.