Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has been drawn into the inquiry examining the suspected suicide of one of the country's most senior officers.

The embattled Scotland Yard chief faces allegations that he and other senior Met officers failed to disclose what they knew about the troubled private life of Michael Todd when he applied to become Chief Constable of Greater Manchester.

The inquiry into Mr Todd's death has been told that senior police officers knew of his extramarital affairs but did not share that knowledge with his new employer, the Greater Manchester Police Authority (GMPA).

Instead, Mr Todd, 50, who was found dead on Snowdon in March, was given glowing references by Scotland Yard when he applied for the chief's post in Manchester.

The Times has learnt that when the Manchester authority received details of the allegations recently, it referred them to Sir Paul Scott-Lee, the West Midlands police chief, who is conducting the Todd inquiry.

One senior source said: “Mike Todd arrived in Manchester with some terrific references - nothing untoward was said about him. But surely the Met had a duty to tell GMP about anything they were aware of which could have a detrimental impact on the office of chief constable?”

A senior Met source admitted: “The Yard let itself down over Mike Todd. His affairs were known about and he should never have been recommended to GMP as someone suitable to be chief constable.”

The Times has discovered that the Metropolitan Police Authority is preparing a report on the conduct of an anti-corruption inquiry into a civilian employee in 1999 that first uncovered evidence of Mr Todd's affairs. Lawyers for the authority will submit the report to the Professional Standards Committee, the same body that has requested an external inquiry into allegations of improper links between Sir Ian and a businessman who was awarded lucrative Scotland Yard contracts.

Sir Ian is also preparing for the inquest of Jean Charles de Menezes and contesting race discrimination claims by his highest-ranking Asian officer. Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur is expected to serve employment tribunal papers on the Met today.

The latest allegations stem from Tracy Clarke, a former civilian employee at the Met, who had a relationship with Mr Todd and now lives abroad. She describes the affair with Mr Todd, then a deputy assistant commissioner, as “tactile but not sexual”. Ms Clarke was the subject of an internal inquiry that began in 1999 because it was suspected that she was passing information to a known criminal. She told The Times that the inquiry uncovered no wrongdoing but did reveal that she was involved with Mr Todd.

While he was in London, Mr Todd's wife, Carolyn, lived with their three children in Nottinghamshire.

During the inquiry Ms Clarke's phone was tapped and personal conversations between her and Mr Todd were recorded. Ms Clarke, 37, said: “Given that the other party was Michael Todd, it sent panic waves to the very top of the tree.”

After the investigation, Ms Clarke began an employment claim against the Met, alleging that she had suffered sexual discrimination compared with Mr Todd. The Met's anti-corruption unit was then under the ultimate command of Sir Ian, then Deputy Commissioner.

She hoped that she would receive an apology in return for dropping her tribunal action and not mentioning Mr Todd in a hearing. Ms Clarke said: “I was shocked when Michael told me that Ian Blair refused to settle my claim prior to the tribunal, despite Michael's appeal to him, as he saw Michael as his only serious competition when [Lord] Stevens retired [as the Met Commissioner].”

Shortly before the tribunal hearing in 2001 Ms Clarke said that she received a phone call from Mr Todd pleading with her not to mention his name in the case. She claims that Mr Todd told her that he had 600 paracetamol tablets with him. In a statement submitted to the inquiry and the office of the North Wales Coroner, Ms Clarke said: “He said that if he didn't have his job he didn't have anything. I was under no illusion as to what he was suggesting he was going to do.”

Ms Clarke decided not to name Mr Todd at her tribunal and lost her case in April 2001. He became Chief Constable in Greater Manchester the next year.

Mr Todd's body was found near the summit of Snowdon with a half-empty gin bottle near by. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary convened an inquiry that is expected to report in October after an inquest.

The Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the allegations.

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