Spears 'must give phone number to drug test lab'

A drug testing lab must be able to reach Britney Spears at a single telephone number, a court commissioner ruled today.

The ruling came after her ex-husband Kevin Federline’s lawyer complained that the pop star has repeatedly failed to respond to calls for court-ordered drug tests.

Federline’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon that there have been 14 laboratory requests for drug testing and Spears failed to respond to eight of them.

Federline has temporary custody of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James because Spears has defied court orders.

“Mr Federline doesn’t want to take the children out of their mom’s life, but we don’t know what else there is to do,” Mr Kaplan told Mr Gordon.

Federline, 29, and Spears, 25, were not in court for the hearing.

Spears lawyer Anne Kiley argued the previous court order was unconstitutional and Spears did not respond to the lab phone calls within an hour, as ordered by the court, because she was sleeping.

Ms Kiley asked that Spears be given six hours to respond to the laboratory phone requests.

But Mr Gordon said time was not the problem, noting Spears had lost telephone numbers and changed her telephone numbers.

The commissioner suggested that Spears get a separate mobile phone for lab use only.

After a court break, Mr Gordon issued his ruling, adding that he was not going to make any further modifications to existing custody orders.

Under those orders, Federline has primary custody. Spears gets one overnight visit and two daytime visits a week. A court-appointed parenting coach, a childproofed home and car restraints were all written into the orders.

Lawyers for Spears and Federline, who married in October 2004 and whose divorce was finalised in July, have repeatedly been in court about custody since they split.