Sheikh sues Michael Jackson for £4.7m

Last week Michael Jackson (pictured) was compelled to hand over the deeds to his beloved Neverland ranch in California. Today the 50-year-old singer is facing a multi-million pound High Court action brought by his one-time chum Sheikh Abdulla Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the pop-loving son of the King of Bahrain.

The Sheikh, 33, is claiming Jackson breached a contract he signed to record two albums for his label, 2 Seas Records, for which he says he paid him a £4.7m advance. Jackson, however, claims that no deal was ever finalised and that the money was a gift. The singer spent six months in Bahrain after he was acquitted of child abuse in 2005 - an interlude which saw him embrace the Muslim faith and adopt an abaya, a veil usually worn by Arab women. During his stay, in addition to the advance, the Sheikh says that he built Jackson a recording studio and gave him a £180,000 Rolls Royce.

Although the case was scheduled for today, it is thought unlikely that either the Sheikh or Jackson will appear at the Royal Courts of Justice, and will settle the matter privately.