Jackson Website Puts His Case

Michael Jackson today broke his silence on the child sex allegations he was charged with last week, through a website he has set up as "a source of official communications" on his case.

In his statement on the website, mjnews.us, the pop star said that the charges made against him were "terribly serious" but were "predicated on a big lie".

Jackson's innocence would be proven in court and he would then be able to put this "horrible time" behind him, the statement said.

The pop legend was charged on Thursday with multiple counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child younger than 14, following a police search of his Neverland ranch in Santa Barbara, California. The charges are thought to relate to accusations from one child.

Upon his release on $3m (£1.87m) bail he flew by private jet to Las Vegas, where he is shooting a music video. He is due in court on January 9.

Today's statement, signed by Jackson and addressed "to my fans, friends and family", went on to take a veiled swipe at people connected with the star who have been making media appearances in relation to the child abuse allegations.

"You are right to be sceptical of some of the individuals who are being identified in the mass media as my friends, spokespeople, and attorneys," the statement said.

"With few exceptions, most of them are simply filling a desperate void in our culture that equates visibility with insight."

Jackson said he would not be providing a "running commentary" on new developments, and so had set up the website to provide a source of official communications on the case.

He asked readers to regard any statement that did not appear on the website as "unauthorised".

Yesterday Jackson's long-standing friend, the actor Elizabeth Taylor, made her first statement about the charges. She said she believed Jackson would be found innocent and accused the media of finding him "guilty".

"I believe Michael is absolutely innocent and that he will be vindicated," she said. "I thought the law was, innocent until proven guilty."

Following his arrest last week, fans of the star have been holding vigils in support of him, in cities around the world. Jackson's latest single, One More Chance, was released today. His greatest hits album, Number Ones, went in at No 1 in the UK album charts this weekend.