Cruise denies links to shamed health guru

Tom Cruise has denied any links to an alternative-medicine consultant accused of unlawfully practising medicine in the US.

Scientologist Feline Butcher has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of practising medicine without a licence and one count of grand theft, and she is due to stand trial at Los Angeles Superior Court on April 18.

The 'Top Gun' actor was reported to have previously employed Butcher as a health advisor, but a representative for the star has dismissed the claims.

The spokesperson tells the New York Daily News: "(Feline Butcher) was not his advisor. He has nothing to do with her."

Butcher's charges stem from her treatment of cancer patient Clive McLean, who died in 2005.

McLean's widow has accused her of encouraging her late husband to abandon chemotherapy and spend thousands of dollars on allegedly useless treatments.