Powell's daughter cancels theatre role

Colin Powell vetoed the flights to the UK, say reports

The actress daughter of US Secretary of State Colin Powell has pulled out of a production at the National Theatre, London, because of concerns over security.

Linda Powell was due to appear in Jitney, a play about a Pittsburgh taxi firm set in the 1970s.

But the actress decided to stay in the US to be close to her family, following the suicide attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September.

"She was due to arrive here in October, but has withdrawn from the show for obvious security reasons," a National Theatre spokeswoman said.

The theatre said it was disappointed about Powell's withdrawal from the production but fully understood her decision.

Jitney ran for 18 months in New York, where it won several critics' awards.

Powell's performance in the play during a US tour had been described by many critics as "vibrant".

The Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Colin Powell had insisted that his 35-year-old daughter and her sister and brother not travel by air.

But a State Department official in Washington said Mr Powell had not done so.

"He did not tell his kids not to travel," spokesman Richard Boucher said.