Jackson fails to prevent ex-wife from seeing kids

Michael Jackson has failed to block his ex-wife Debbie Rowe from seeing the two children the couple had together.

Jackson's move - one that was rejected by a Californian appeal court - comes after Rowe's 2003 legal action to regain charge of her children, following the pop star's child abuse allegations. The pair have been engaged in a tug of war over the kids ever since.

Documents show that Rowe's concerns don't only lie with those abuse accusations - there is also a possibility that Jackson has been involved with radical religious group The Nation Of Islam. Her previous attempt to take the children away from Jackson was "because of concerns arising from Michael's criminal prosecution and press reports Michael had associated with the Nation of Islam, whose members Deborah believed do 'not like Jews'."

Rowe had, in 2001, effectively given up her parental rights, but this was overturned at a later date. Jackson is quite obviously keen to retain charge of his children, despite fresh allegations of child abuse last month (reported here). A full custody battle is expected to unfold over the next few months.