I would never harm a child - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, saying he must respond to “untruths and sensationalism", issued a statement yesterday saying he would never harm a child but acknowledging that he has reached financial settlements with people in the past to avoid the public embarrassment of going to court.

Jackson’s statement was issued just hours before the scheduled broadcast of a television report alleging that the entertainer paid $2m (€1.66m) to the son of an employee at his Neverland Ranch in 1990 to avoid a child molestation accusation.