Rapper Snoop Dogg could be heading back to Britain after winning the latest stage in a legal battle to get a visa ban on him lifted, it emerged today.

The 37-year-old American, real name Cordozar Calvin Broadus, was turned down for a visa in March last year, a day before he was set to join rapper P Diddy and speak to black teenagers at an anti-gang and youth crime forum.

The controversial rapper, along with five members of his crew, had been arrested after a mass brawl at Heathrow airport's British Airways VIP lounge in 2006. He was told that his presence risked provoking violent crime and was not conducive to the public good.

But a recording of the 2006 incident, where chairs and bottles of drink were thrown in a clash with security staff, show that Snoop had at one point been playing with children.

Snoop, who later received a caution, had also co-operated with the Metropolitan Police and did not retaliate when pushed by an officer, according to the Guardian newspaper.

Immigration judge Nehar Bird found no evidence the rapper had started or been responsible for any public disorder in January.

Immigration judges yesterday turned down a Home Office appeal but the Government officials still have a week in which they could possibly launch another challenge.

Senior immigration judge George Warr ruled that evidence had not been overlooked and there had been no material error of law in the January hearing.

Snoop's lawyer, Phillip Trott, told The Guardian: "It has been an appalling waste of public money to pursue this man.

"It is outrageous that the Government is trying to exclude someone who is an innocent figure and has frequently spoken against gang culture and youths carrying guns."

A Home Office spokesman said: "We are considering the judges' findings."