American pop star Sean “P Diddy” Combs has scrapped a British tour after the Home Office refused fellow rapper and co-performer Snoop Dogg permission to enter the country.

Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was scheduled to play five dates with Combs, as part of a European tour which the duo have been co-headlining. But authorities have denied the star a visa allowing him into the UK, following a fracas at Heathrow last year in which Snoop was arrested.

Initially tour organisers said that the concerts – which kicked off last night at Wembley Arena - would go ahead without Snoop, with Combs appearing. But today, a spokeswoman for record company Polydor said the decision had been taken to cancel the performances altogether.

“With late notice of Snoop being denied a visa, time has run out and it is too late reconfigure the show,” the company said in a statement. “They really did not want to let fans down in this way as the UK was a planned highlight of the tour. However, this ultimately was a situation out of their control.”

The statement added that the pair were “incredibly disappointed and devastated” at being forced to cancel the tour, which would have also seen them perform in Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham and Glasgow as well as London.

Snoop Dogg, who used to be a member of an LA gang, had tried to overturn the government’s decision. Home Office rules state that foreign citizens can be barred from entering the country if there are concerns about their presence. It refused to comment on individual cases but said that the government had the power to refuse entrance to anyone whose presence would “not be conducive to the public good”.

In April 2006, the rapper and five other men were arrested on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl, after a fight erupted when some people in his 30-strong entourage were refused entry to the British Airways first-class lounge at Heathrow Airport.

Snoop was forced to endure almost 24 hours in jail following the incident, in which seven officers received minor injuries and one other suffered a fracture to the hand.

Fans with tickets for the show can obtain refunds at the original point of purchase, organisers said.

Earlier this month, Combs was ordered by the High Court to drop a lyric in which he calls himself “Diddy” ahead of the planned UK tour, following a case in which a British DJ established ownership rights over the alias.

Richard “Diddy” Dearlove, a club DJ best known for remixing Blondie’s hits, won £10,000 in damages from Combs last year after proving to the High Court that he had been trading under the name Diddy since 1992. Combs, 37, who has also used the names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and Puffy, then agreed not to use the Diddy alias in Britain to comply with “passing-off” laws.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Donor organ allowed child’s own heart to heal
• Michael Jackson: Not the final chapter
• Brüno toned down for 15 rating