Madame Tussauds snubs UK Prime Minister

London, Mar 11 (UNI) Madame Tussauds, where waxworks of Mahatma Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan, Indira Gandhi and Aishwarya Rai stand tall, will not commission the model of Gordon Brown because he has not made enough impact as Britain's Prime Minister.

Authorities at the world famous waxwork museum said there was not enough public demand for the Prime Minister to be immortalised in wax and they will hold off until after a general election.

''We are going to wait for a general election to see what will happen, because that is the ultimate test of public opinion. If there is a surge of support then we will reconsider,'' the Independent quoted Museum spokesperson Ben Lovett as saying.

It marks a rapid about-turn by the London visitor attraction, which had invited Mr Brown for a sitting last week, saying he was a ''hugely popular'' choice among visitors. Yesterday, however, the museum said there was simply not enough demand to justify commissioning the 150,000 pound waxwork.

Mr Lovett said former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was cast in wax 13 years ago, was still a big hit with foreign visitors.

After the declaration by the museum, the Prime Minister Office released a letter written eight days ago in which the attraction's global head of external relations, Nicky Hobbs, had invited Mr Brown for a sitting just. She wrote, ''I am honoured to tell you that the Prime Minister has been selected to be honoured by the Tussauds team and be amongst the very select group of people that are made into wax figures.'' UNI XC SYU DB1104