Tom Cruise dumps publicist sister

Tom Cruise has replaced his publicist sister and hired a top Hollywood flack instead.

Tom Cruise has dropped his sister as his movie publicist and hired a top Hollywood flack, after coming under intense media fire for publicly mixing his religious views with his movie-making.

Cruise has announced that his sister Lee Anne DeVette will hand over publicity for him and his production company to veteran spokesman to the stars Paul Bloch after a tough summer in which his image took a beating.

DeVette will exclusively oversee Cruise's soon-to-expand involvement in charitable causes, notably those linked to the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a devout member.