The man claiming that one of J K Rowling's Harry Potter books was lifted from another work has been ordered to pay more than £1.5m (€1.7m) into court as security for the costs of the author and her publisher - or the case will be struck out.

Dan Brown, one of the highest paid authors in history, sat at the opposite end of a court bench today from two writers who claim he copied their work for his blockbuster novel, The Da Vinci Code.

CONSPIRACY theories involving the Catholic Church and the Holy Grail will be investigated at the High Court in London today.