Britain's tough libel laws have prevented the UK publication of Amanda Knox's account of the murder of Meredith Kercher, according to the book's publisher.
Publication of the 25-year-old's memoir, Waiting to be Heard, is due to go ahead as scheduled in the US, Canada and Australia on Tuesday.
HarperCollins UK, the book publisher owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, has been due to publish the tell-all book early next month but has pulled out over fears of legal action.
"Due to our legal system, and relying upon advice from our counsel, HarperCollins UK will not publish a British edition of Waiting to Be Heard, by Amanda Knox, at this time," said a spokesman for HarperCollins UK.
However, UK readers will be able to buy the book online. Amazon's promotional blurb describes it as "a remarkable story of innocence, resilience, and courage".
The publisher is concerned that the UK's stringent libel laws mean that it could run into legal difficulties because a retrial of Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, has been ordered by Italian authorities.
In addition, the publisher is closely monitoring a number of libel cases in Italy where police and authorities are suing Knox and her parents for defamation for claims made in the press about how she was treated and and her interrogation about the murder.
It is thought HarperCollins UK's decision not to publish the book was influenced by the case of Lawrence Wright's tell-all about Scientology, Going Clear.
The book, which Amazon describes as a "clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration" into Scientology, had a global release on 17 January.
However, the book, which is published by Random House subsidiary TransWorld, was not distributed in the UK because of what one source said was concerns about libel laws. "It was published pretty much everywhere but here," said a publishing source.
Knox, who was reportedly paid $4m for her book deal, has given interviews in the runup to the publication of Waiting to be Heard.
Her first TV interview, with ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer, will air on Tuesday. Last week she gave an interview to celebrity magazine People in which she said that she hoped that Meredith Kercher's family read her account.
Kercher, a 21-year-old from south London, was a student studying in Italy when she was murdered in the Umbrian town of Perugia in November 2007. She was found in her bedroom in the villa she shared with Knox, like Kercher an exchange student, and two Italian women.
Knox and Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of the murder and sexual assault of Kercher, but had their convictions overturned by an Italian appeals court in 2011.
Last month Italy's highest criminal court overturned Knox's acquittal and ordered a new trial.
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