The scheduled appearance last Tuesday morning was cancelled at 6.45am as Power waited for a taxi to take him to the Donnybrook studio. He was due to talk on the latest economic report which he had compiled for his employer, Friends First, when he got a call saying it was cancelled.

The reasons given were that in the report he was proposing a 2% cut in the top rate of income tax, which is also being called for by the PDs.

"I was shocked, " Power said, when contacted. "I was told the policies I had were PD policies and it was put to me that I had been involved with the party and I was going to run for them in the last election. I said that they asked me to run but I didn't, nor was I a member of the party."

He subsequently received an apology for the incident.

Power, who is a frequent media contributor, said what bothered him most about the incident was that his independence as a commentator was questioned. "In future, can I not express a view if one of the political parties has a similar view?" he said.

In a statement, RTE said that Power's contribution was cancelled at the last minute because there had been some doubt about its appropriateness.

"RTE Morning Ireland editors make crucial decisions between five and 7am. It's not always the easiest time to consult widely to check out prospective material so sometimes we operate on one of the guiding principles of journalism: 'if in doubt, leave it out'."

The statement went on: "Later in the day, after consulting more widely, we were left in no doubt that Mr Power is totally independent of any political party and the programme editor concerned rang Mr Power's representative to reassure Mr Power that his programme contributions are welcome and his independence is in no doubt."