Broadcasting watchdog decides that Bashir misled teenage prodigy's father

Martin Bashir was embroiled in a new controversy yesterday about misleading the subjects of his interviews months after being criticised by the singer Michael Jackson.

The interviewer, who came to prominence through a conversation with Diana, Princess of Wales, has been found guilty of misleading the father of a teenage prodigy. The finding will be damaging to the credibility of ITV1's star interviewer and his team from Tonight with Trevor McDonald.

In a damning report, the Broadcasting Standards Commission said Mr Bashir had misled Farooq Yusof into believing he was investigating the role of the authorities in the disappearance of his daughter, Sufiah. The girl had run away from Oxford University at the age of 16 to escape the alleged control of her father.

Mr Yusof said Mr Bashir had sympathised with him and had offered his assistance in trying to find the truth about his daughter's disappearance. But the programme, broadcast in March 2001, featured a confrontation between Mr Yusof and Sufiah.

The watchdog found that Mr Bashir failed to give a "clear indication as to the nature and purpose of the programme" and upheld one of Mr Yusof's complaints. A further three complaints were not upheld.

Last night Granada, which makes Tonight with Trevor McDonald, said: "We stand by our programme ... While we accept the BSC's adjudications we don't always agree with them. We do not accept that Mr Yusof's involvement in the programme was secured under false pretences."

The ruling is highly damaging to Mr Bashir's journalistic credibility so soon after the controversy surrounding the methods he used to secure his world exclusive with Mr Jackson. Living with Michael Jackson revealed that the singer shares his bed with teenage boys.

Mr Jackson later accused Mr Bashir of "a betrayal" and released his own documentary showing Mr Bashir lavishing him with praise about his "spectacular" relationship with his children and describing newspaper coverage of the pop star as "disgusting".

Last month Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, accused Mr Bashir of "tricking" Princess Diana into confessing her deepest secrets during a television interview in 1995.