International press claims, first reported in Malta by MaltaMedia, suggested that Libya's leader Moammar Gaddafi had decided to tend to Mrs Arafat and her daughter Zahwa with a security detail and a $1.5 million luxury condo in Malta.

Contacted on Friday by The Times, Mrs Arafat laughed off the news, saying she would have had no problem confirming had it been true. "There would have been nothing wrong had Col Gaddafi done something of the sort but it is just not the case," she said even dismissing the idea that she was being protected by Libyan guards.

Tunisian officials expelled Suha Arafat, 44, and Zawha Arafat, 14, for undisclosed reasons following the revocation of Suha Arafat's Tunisian citizenship in August. They had lived there since Yasser Arafat's death in November 2004.

 Asked whether she had been in contact with the Libyan leader, she said she has kept in touch with all leaders and heads of state who were friends of her late husband. "Just last month I was in Libya with Col Gaddafi for a ceremony in honour of my husband... but this story is just not true. It is all invented."

Asked about the revocation of her Tunisian citizenship, which remains officially unexplained, she said she did not really know why the Tunisians acted the way they did. "I left Tunisia voluntarily," she told The Times, pointing out that she had already been out of the country when her citizenship was revoked, "but then my citizenship was revoked... perhaps you won't believe me but I myself don't really know why they acted that way. I guess you should ask them."

Mrs Arafat said that the new arrangement in Malta suits her just fine praising the peace and democracy enjoyed in Malta. "You really don't appreciate these things until you lose them and you Maltese should really be thankful for what you have. Many around the world hope they can one day live this sort of life. "My daughter loves it. I love it and for the time being I hope I don't need to change things."