BRITISH TV reporter Martin Bashir, whose controversial documentary helped trigger a criminal probe of Michael Jackson, has been subpoenaed to testify as a prosecution witness at the entertainer's child abuse trial.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville termed Bashir a necessary material witness with regard to the production, editing, and broadcast of the documentary Living With Michael Jackson.

Prosecutors want Bashir to appear at the trial in Santa Maria, California, on March 1. Jackson's trial is due to open on January 31.