Nanny regularly pumped Jackson's stomach

The former nanny of Michael Jackson's three children says she regularly had to pump his stomach to remove cocktails of painkillers, British newspapers have reported.

Grace Rwaramba, whom Jackson abruptly sacked in December, also spoke of her fears for the children following his death and has flown to Los Angeles from Europe hoping to be reunited with them.

The Jackson family are angry at the unanswered questions surrounding the star's final hours, amid reports that the singer's physician, Texas cardiologist Conrad Murray, injected him with the painkiller Demerol shortly before his death.

The star apparently called Demerol, a synthetic painkiller similar to morphine, his "health tonic".

Jackson, who was 50 and weighed just 57kg, is believed to have been taking as many as eight prescription drugs a day. They included two other painkillers, Dilaudid and Vicodin, which are dangerous in large quantities and should never be mixed with other pharmaceuticals.

Rwandan-born Ms Rwaramba, 42, said in comments reported by the Sunday Times in London that the star was addicted to narcotic painkillers.

"I had to pump his stomach many times. He always mixed so much of it."

She said she once appealed to Jackson's mother, Katherine, and sister Janet to intervene and persuade him to seek treatment for his addiction, but Michael accused her of betrayal.

Ms Rwaramba worked for Jackson for more than a decade, first as an office assistant before becoming nanny to his children, Michael jnr, 12 - who is known as Prince - Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, nicknamed Blanket.

She claims that since being fired in December she has returned several times to see the children.

Yesterday, Los Angeles police again questioned Jackson's doctor and the family ordered a private autopsy.

Jackson's father, Joseph, issued a statement urging fans not to despair because the singer "will continue to live on in each and every one of you".

Dr Murray hired a lawyer to accompany him to a three-hour meeting with the LAPD. "Dr Murray is considered to be a witness to the events surrounding Michael Jackson's death and he is not a suspect," Houston law firm Stradley, Chernoff & Alford said.

Dr Murray was trying to revive Jackson when paramedics arrived at the singer's mansion, and he rode with him in an ambulance to hospital.

The official autopsy failed to determine what killed Jackson, pending toxicology tests that are expected to take up to six weeks. Such tests could reveal drugs in his system.

The Rev Jesse Jackson, a spokesman for the family, told ABC News they also had questions for Dr Murray. "When did the doctor come? What did he do? Did he inject him? If so, with what?"

Joseph Jackson reportedly sent moving vans to empty his son's mansion, concerned that items might be stolen.

- INDEPENDENT, AGENCIES