WASHINGTON (AFP) ??” Barely six month after lunching with US first lady Laura Bush.

WASHINGTON (AFP) ??” Barely six month after lunching with US first lady Laura Bush, acclaimed British novelist Ian McEwan was denied access to the United States for 36 hours in a wrangle above visas, it was reported.

According to the Washington employment McEwan finally arrived in the West Coast city of Seattle upon Wednesday night, just 90 minutes before he was befitting to appear before 2,500 persons at the start of a discourse tour.

According to the position McEwan started his speech through thanking US authorities "for protecting the American public from British novelists."

He said that during three interviews he was asked "What kind of novels do you write: fiction or non-fiction." McEwan has written internationally acclaimed works such as "Atonement", "Amsterdam" and "The Comfort of Strangers".

The writer, who was invited to luncheon with President George W. Bush's wife during an official visit to London last November,