Number 10 has dropped a complaint about media reports which suggested the prime minister had sought a higher profile role during the lying-in-state of the Queen Mother.

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) said that Downing Street had settled its complaint after reaching a deal with the publications concerned.

Tony Blair's PR chief, Alastair Campbell, has written to the watchdog stating that the issue has been resolved to his satisfaction.

Media reports had suggested that Blair asked palace officials if he, rather than the speaker and lord chancellor, could greet the cortege as it arrived for the lying-in-state.

Whilst the watchdog's investigation is understood to have found that Blair was not directly involved, it is understood that his private secretary had contacted Black Rod to check the protocol governing the occasion.

Despite the agreement to drop the inquiry, questions remain over what representations were made by Downing Street staff.

The withdrawal means that Black Rod will not have to give evidence to the commission on the exact nature of conversations with Number 10 officials. Reports suggest Downing Street insiders feared that the senior Westminster official may have contradicted their version of events if he had been called to give evidence.

Peter Oborne, the journalist who first broke the story, said Campbell's move represented an admission of guilt.

"They are admitting that our story was true," he said.

"They have now withdrawn that complaint. We have given them nothing at all - our story was true."

He has accused Campbell of trying to bully newspapers into submission.

But Number 10 insists that the PCC inquiry proved "beyond doubt" that the prime minister did not seek to boost his profile.

"We are very happy that this matter has been resolved and that we agree with the PCC that this was the best way to resolve the matter," said a spokesman.

"What has been established beyond doubt is that the prime minister did not in any way try to enhance his role in the Queen Mother's funeral.

"The suggestion otherwise is not only deeply offensive but also completely wrong."

The spokesman said the headlines attached to the initial stories had clearly intended to mislead readers.

"The headlines were not factually correct. We stand absolutely by the fact that our officials were not trying to enhance the role of the prime minister," he said.

"I am not going to go through each story line by line. What I am saying categorically is that the prime minister did not try to enhance his role, nor did any official."

Professor Robert Pinker, the acting PCC chief, said the matter had been resolved "amicably" but conceded that it remained partly unresolved.

"Following the submissions from the newspapers concerned, while it is agreed there was contact between Number 10 civil servants and Black Rod's office to discuss what was expected of the prime minister in the proceedings, all of the papers make clear that they accept that the prime minister was not involved in any of these contacts," he said.

"Following an approach by the PCC, Downing Street has now indicated that it considers the matter resolved on this basis and the file has therefore been closed."

The claim that Blair sought a more prominent role was made in The Spectator magazine - and was repeated in the Evening Standard and the Mail on Sunday.