The tug-of-war over Michael Jackson’s children turned ugly last night when the star’s ex-wife denied reports that she was going to “sell” them to the singer’s family for $4 million.

Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two eldest children, is in confidential talks with the Jackson family about the future of the children. The court date for the custody hearing, which has been postponed twice, is scheduled for Monday.

The New York Post reported yesterday that Ms Rowe would accept about $4 million (£2.5 million) for giving up her parental rights.

Stacy Brown, a Jackson biographer and family confidant, told ABC News that a deal was in the offing. “One family member said $3 million, another said $5 million. My guess is that it will be somewhere in between,” Mr Brown said.

Eric George, the lawyer for Ms Rowe, rejected the reports that she had given up custody for cash. “There has been no agreement reached between Ms Rowe and the Jacksons,” Mr George wrote to the New York Post. “Ms Rowe has not and will not give up her parental rights. No determination has been reached concerning custody or visitation.

“Ms Rowe has not accepted — and will not accept — any additional financial consideration beyond the spousal support she and Michael Jackson personally agreed to several years ago.”

The row broke as e-mails emerged casting doubt on Ms Rowe’s desire to raise the children. Rebecca White, a close friend, showed the tabloid TV show Extra e-mails that Ms Rowe had written to her in the days after Jackson’s death.

"I’m not going after custody,” Ms Rowe wrote to Ms White on July 2. “These kids are not mine. They were never mine. They were always Michael’s. I was Michael’s best friend.”

Three days later she wrote: “My lawyer is telling me I have to take some responsibility about the welfare of the children. Do I want the kids? Hell no. Does it look good for me to ask for them? Absolutely. I don’t want to look like the woman who gave away her kids and just forgot about them. Would Michael want Joe to have them? I think it would be the last thing that he would ever have wanted.”

Ms White said that she thought Ms Rowe was seeking custody for financial gain. “The motivation is money,” she said. “I really have to be honest . . . If the children aren’t the ones she wants, what else will she gain from it?”

Ms White said Mr Rowe predicted that a secret deal would be worked out over custody. “In one text message she had just said, ‘Just wait until the 14th. Everything will be done after the 14th’.” she said. “There’s definitely going to be a secret deal. There’s definitely going to be a settlement that’s going to come out of this.”

Ms Rowe, a former nurse in the office of Jackson’s dermatologist, bore two children for Jackson — Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11. The surrogate mother who bore Jackson’s third child, Prince Michael II, known as Blanket, 7, has never been identified.

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