According to a report in the Sunday Times, leaked government papers drafted by senior civil servants propose creating "separate entities for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland" bringing to an end the BBC as a national institution.
Critics will be quick to suggest that the controversial nature of the proposals indicates that the government is looking to exploit the fallout from the Hutton Report, which lambasted the BBC, as part of a move to wreak revenge on the corporation.
However, the government has denied that the BBC was at risk and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said: "We can be confident that by the end of Charter review we will have a strong BBC."
The break-up suggestion is just one plank of a wider review into the BBC ahead of the review of its Royal Charter in 2006.
However, it comes hard on the heels of the Hutton Report, which was the biggest crisis in the BBC's 80-year history and controversially claimed both chairman Gavyn Davies and director-general Greg Dyke.
The mooted break-up plans form part of a wider review of the BBC's future and come at one of the most vulnerable moments in its history after both resignations last month.
According to the Sunday Times, the leaked papers also reveal that Tony Blair's government is considering giving media watchdog Ofcom a greater say in how the BBC runs and its output.
The paper adds that the governors could be stripped of their role overseeing the corporation's "impartiality and accuracy" with a new independent board created, which would be divorced from the BBC.
Also under consideration is handing a chunk of the BBC's £2.6bn a year licence fee to rivals ITV and Channel 4, which would go to help covering the cost of producing programming for their public service remit.
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