YUSUF ISLAM - SPELLING MISTAKE TO BLAME FOR CAT STEVENS TERROR SCARE

LATEST: YUSUF ISLAM, the British singer formerly known as CAT STEVENS, was refused entry into America because of a spelling error.

The 57-year-old MORNING HAS BROKEN star - who abandoned a successful solo career in 1977 to become a Muslim - was on a flight from London to Washington on Tuesday (21SEP04) when his name was spotted on a US security 'watch list' and his flight was diverted before officials deported him back to Britain.

Aviation sources, with access to the "no-fly" list, now insist there is no entry on the list under the name 'Yusuf Islam', but that there is a 'Youssouf Islam' on the list.

The US Transportation Safety Administration alleges that Islam has links to terrorist groups, which he has denied.

In a statement Islam says, "We have now initiated a legal process to try to find out exactly what is going on, and to take all necessary steps to undo the very serious, and wholly unfounded, injustice which I have suffered.

"The amazing thing is that I was not given, and have still not been given, any explanation whatsoever as to what it is I am accused of, or why I am now deemed an apparent security threat - let alone given an opportunity to respond to these allegations.

"I was simply told that the order had come from on high."