Britain's senior-most Asian police officer is preparing to take legal action against Scotland Yard for racial discrimination amid claims that he has been 'sidelined'.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur is said to be upset on being excluded from key meetings about the London [Images] Olympics [Images] in 2012, despite his role in charge of security planning.

Insiders said Ghaffur had already been left 'hurt and humiliated' when, following a bitter row with Met chief Sir Ian Blair two years ago, he was moved to a less prestigious job.

Ghaffur was also prevented from speaking out about the recent vote for 42-day detention for terror suspects. Sir Ian had backed the proposal, the Daily Mail reported.

The move comes just two days after another senior Asian officer Commander Shabir Hussain accused Sir Ian of sidelining ethnic minorities to surround himself with a 'golden circle' of hand-picked favourites.