The night that war rebel Kylie said no to Tony Blair

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Singer Kylie Minogue declined an invitation to meet the Prime Minister because, it is claimed, of her opposition to the war in Iraq.

It happened when Mr Blair found himself staying in the same hotel as Miss Minogue. His aides asked the manager of the Malmaison in Birmingham to request a meeting with the star.

"The hotel manager passed the message on, but Miss Minogue politely declined," said a source.

"She said it would be unfeasible, citing commitments to her concert as the reason."

However, it is known that Miss Minogue, currently recovering from gruelling treatment for breast cancer, is opposed to the war in Iraq. Those in her circle have raised questions as to whether this was the real reason behind her refusal as she is usually prepared to meet people when on tour. They believe she refused as a protest.

Miss Minogue, 38, was performing in her Showgirl Tour at the time - April last year.

But last night both sides played down the incident. Miss Minogue's spokesman said: "We weren't aware of any request to meet Mr Blair and never received any such request." And Downing Street said: "Mr Blair did not ask to meet Kylie, nor did they meet."

In 2003 Miss Minogue took part in the Stop The War Coalition protest which saw more than a million people march.

She was reported to have agreed to perform in an anti-war concert alongside Coldplay, Robbie Williams and Travis but it never happened. The Prime Minister spoke about being in the same hotel in speeches at the time. He even wrote in an on-line blog that his spin doctors kept singing her hit Spinning Around.

Miss Minogue is due to resume touring in Australia next month, before performing further dates in the UK in January.

Speaking at the Milan Fashion show where she was the guest of honour at a party thrown by style gurus Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, she told how she was looking forward to the future.

She added: "It's a very strange feeling. It's like I'm living a second life. I know I'm not the same Kylie as before but at the same time it's difficult to explain what exactly has changed."