White House officials hit back at Diddy snub reports

Officials at the White House have hit back at reports they had anything to do with First Lady Laura Bush's reported snub of Sean P Diddy Combs this week.

The New York Post recently reported that Diddy's absence at Monday's inauguration of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, was in response to rumours that representatives of American President George W Bush's wife didn't want her to be photographed with the Bad Boy Records boss.

But Laura Bush's spokesman, Gordon Johndrow says in a statement: "The White House does not determine who does or does not participate in a programme, like the dedication of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center."