The former The Smiths star hit headlines in July (15) when he lodged an official complaint with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) alleging he was groped during a 'pat-down' search.

He claimed that during the incident at San Francisco International Airport in California, a security officer grabbed his "private bits" and "put his finger down my rear cleavage".

TSA bosses launched a probe but declared the officer innocent just a day later, and now editors at Gawker.com have obtained CCTV footage of the incident from several cameras at the airport.

It shows Morrissey, who is wearing dark trousers and a light-blue shirt, standing in a full body scanner with his arms raised before stepping out and being stopped by a security officer.

The guard searches the rear waistband of the singer's trousers and can be seen lifting his shirt tails up, but the view of his hands is obscured.

He then kneels down in front of the pop star, with his head at waist level, and continues to search but again his hands are obscured from view.

Footage of the incident from an overhead camera also appears inconclusive, but following the release of the film, many commentators online agreed the officer's search seemed unnecessarily rigorous.

Morrissey himself was not surprised when TSA bosses announced there was no evidence of wrongdoing, telling U.S. TV host Larry King in August (15), "They're above the law."