Rappers Snoop and Diddy cancel UK tour dates

LONDON, Mar 27 (Reuters) US rappers Snoop Dogg and Sean ''Diddy'' Combs have cancelled the British dates of their European tour after Snoop was denied a visa to enter Britain, his record company said today.

The pair were ''incredibly disappointed and devastated'' after concerts in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham and Glasgow were called off, Polydor said in a statement.

''With late notice of Snoop being denied a visa, time has run out and it is too late to reconfigure the show,'' it said. ''They really did not want to let fans down this way as the UK was a planned highlight of the tour.

''However, this ultimately was a situation out of their control.

Snoop Dogg, a former Los Angeles gang member who was arrested during a fight at London's Heathrow airport last year, had tried to overturn the government's decision.

The Home Office would not comment on individual cases, but said the government had the power to refuse entrance to anyone whose presence would ''not be conducive to the public good''.

Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus, has been performing across Europe with Combs, once his bitter rival in a notorious feud between the east and west coast US hip-hop scenes.

Fans will be given a refund. The tour continues in Dublin on Saturday.

REUTERS DKA RK1535