Britain's top cop had his Asian rival bugged

London, Aug 18 : Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, had sanctioned a clandestine operation to bug and illegally spy Britain's most senior Asian policeman, according to leaked documents of Scotland Yard.

The papers allege that Tarique Ghaffur, an Assistant Commissioner, had more than 300 of his telephone calls tapped in an elaborate but fruitless operation directly overseen by Blair. Ghaffur was codenamed Vivaldi.

He was also photographed and taped attending more than 30 meetings with a fellow officer at restaurants and cafes in west London, The Times reported.

Ghaffur's lawyers are preparing this week to announce formal legal proceedings for race discrimination against Blair, who was placed under formal investigation by the Home Office this month.

Blair is under investigation over 3 million pounds worth of police work awarded to close friend Andy Miller.

The documents prepared by Ghaffur's lawyers state: "AC Ghaffur was the subject of direct surveillance and given a pseudo name. This was a direct attack on his honesty and integrity."

Although the surveillance operation officially targeted another officer, Ghaffur believes it was designed to trap him in a compromising position.

Officially they targeted Ali Dizaei, who was wrongly suspected of having contacts with prostitutes, corruption and spying for Iranian intelligence.

Ghaffur, 53, once the senior Scotland Yard officer responsible for signing off on surveillance operations, claims Blair was hoping to trap him into indiscretions even though he did not have the proper legal authority to monitor him.

He claims he was sidelined in his role as head of security preparations for the 2012 Olympics, was excluded from key meetings and had his contract renewed for one year instead of five.

Blair has previously rejected the racism claims and has denied any wrongdoing over the aarding of contracts to Miller.

ANI