Turkey's president today ruled out any ban on Facebook and YouTube after prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said the sites could be shut to stop his foes anonymously posting audio recordings purportedly exposing corruption in his inner circle.

In the latest recording, released on YouTube late yesterday, Mr Erdogan is purportedly heard berating a newspaper owner over the telephone about an article and suggesting the journalists be sacked, in comments that will further stoke concerns over media freedom and Mr Erdogan's authoritarian style of leadership.

Mr Erdogan, who rejects any accusations of corruption, blames US-based Turkish Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally, for the wiretaps which he says have been “fabricated”.

Mr Gulen, who denies any involvement, has many followers in Turkey, especially in the police and judiciary.

President Abdullah Gul, a co-founder of Mr Erdogan's ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party, said freedom of expression was an important value buttressed by the government's own reforms.

“Closure (of the social media sites) is out of the question,” Mr Gul said when asked about Mr Erdogan’s threat, adding that under a recent law authorities could block access to material on the sites if a person’s privacy were violated. “We are always proud of the reforms we have made regarding the broadening of freedoms,” said Mr Gul, who has come under fire from liberal-minded Turks over the past year for not contesting some government measures they see as curtailing basic freedoms.

As president, Mr Gul can veto laws once and send them back to parliament for further work. In a TV interview yesterday, Mr Erdogan raised the option of a ban on YouTube and Facebook after March 30th local elections, saying: “We will take the necessary steps in the strongest way ... because these people (Gulen’s followers) ... encourage every kind of immorality and espionage for their own ends.”

Mr Erdogan, Turkey’s most popular politician, says the postings are part of a campaign to discredit him and his government, which has presided over more than a decade of strong economic growth and rising living standards.

Reuters