Jackson 'reaches out-of-court deal'

The pop superstar was expected to appear at the High Court in London on Monday to give evidence in a case against the King of Bahrain's son, Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who claimed the singer owed him £4.7 million.

But spokeswoman Celena Aponte, of The Outside Organisation Ltd, said: "As Mr Jackson was about to board his plane to London, he was advised by his legal team to postpone his travels since the parties had concluded a settlement in principle. Therefore, he will not be attending court on Monday."

Jackson, 50, was invited with his children and entourage to Bahrain by Sheikh Abdulla shortly after the star was acquitted of child molestation charges in California.

While there, the sheikh lavished money on Jackson and built a recording studio, which he believed would be used to record albums by the king of pop using material the sheikh had helped to write. But Jackson pulled out of the deal in May 2006 after 11 months and has not seen the sheikh since.

The sheikh said he believed he had formed "a close personal relationship" with the star whose career and fortune he hoped to revive, and he began taking legal action to get his money back.

He claimed he and Jackson entered into a "combined rights agreement" (CRA) under which the troubled superstar was committed to repaying 7,000,000 dollars spent by the sheikh from royalties the singer earned from records produced at the Bahrain studios.

Jackson insisted there was no valid agreement and that the sheikh's case was based on "mistake, misrepresentation and undue influence". He said the money paid out by the sheikh - on utility bills for his Neverland ranch, accommodation expenses and even the legal costs of his criminal trial - were "gifts".

At the start of the 12-day court hearing which began last Monday, Robert Englehart QC, representing Jackson, had applied for the star to give his evidence by video link from Los Angeles because of health fears.

However the application was withdrawn after medical experts said Jackson was fit enough to travel. But any fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the high profile visitor will face disappointment now that a settlement has been reached.