Leaked Scotland Yard documents reveal that Sir Ian Blair bugged the most senior Asian official, Tarique Ghaffur, in an attempt to discredit him.

The papers allege Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner, had more than 300 of his telephone calls tapped in an elaborate operation overseen directly by Blair.

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

Already under investigation for allegedly giving his friend, Andy Miller, £3 million in police work, this will only further the scrutiny already applied to the Commissioner.

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 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.