Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is facing an inquiry over his friendship with a businessman who has been awarded £3 million of Scotland Yard contracts. He will be questioned about his links with Andy Miller, whom he has known for 30 years and has accompanied on skiing holidays.

The investigation, which is likely to be carried out by a senior officer from an outside force, was requested yesterday by the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) after an emergency meeting of its professional standards subcommittee.

The authority has asked Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to appoint an external investigator in a move that adds to the air of crisis surrounding Sir Ian’s leadership of the Met. The commissioner is under pressure on a number of fronts. He is trying to ward off legal action by his most senior Asian officer, Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, who has accused him of race discrimination.

He could also face a public grilling next month at the inquest of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead at Stockwell Tube station in July 2005.

“Ian is particularly worried about the inquest, but I don’t think he realises quite how serious this contracts business is,” a senior Scotland Yard source told The Times.

The key issue for the investigation is the award of a £150,000 contract to Mr Miller’s Impact Plus consultancy company for work on upgrading the Met’s 999 call system.

Bids for the contract were placed in 2002 and it was awarded in 2003 when Sir Ian was still Deputy Commissioner. Another firm had offered to carry out the work for less than a third of the sum paid to Mr Miller’s company. Sir Ian attended presentations but insists that he did not participate in the evaluation process. In November 2002 he wrote to the treasurer of the MPA declaring his friendship with Mr Miller.

The MPA’s internal auditors have been examining documents relating to the tendering process and their report was presented yesterday.

After studying the report, MPA members asked the Home Secretary to appoint an investigating officer “to ascertain whether the Commissioner’s conduct met the required standards as per the Police Code of Conduct”.

Reshard Auladin, chairman of the subcommittee, said: “This decision does not imply any finding of wrongdoing by the commissioner but is made to ensure that all the facts are independently and thoroughly investigated.” The investigation is expected to be widened to cover not just the 2003 contract but others, worth a total of £3 million, awarded to Impact Plus between 2001 and 2008.

The commissioner welcomed the inquiry and said that he would cooperate fully with it.

“I consider that I was open and straightforward in informing both the Metropolitan Police Service and the MPA about my relationship with someone who was subsequently awarded a contract with the MPS,” Sir Ian said.

“I am on record as saying that I reject any suggestion that I have behaved inappropriately and that remains my position.”

Mr Miller, 54, who lives in Esher, Surrey, and resigned as a director of Impact Plus last year, has also denied any suggestion of impropriety.

Surrey police said that Impact Plus had carried out some unpaid consultancy work when Sir Ian was chief constable there between 1998-2000.

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