The billionaire joint owner of the Estee Lauder cosmetic corporation has denied that a campaign by Irish nationalist groups forced him to withdraw from an Ulster Unionist Party fund-raising dinner in New York last night.
Mr Ronald S. Lauder, Estee Lauder's son, had been one of the chief backers of the $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser, with UUP leader Mr David Trimble as guest of honour.
Mr Lauder's spokesman, Mr Allen Roth, confirmed that the heir to the cosmetic empire would not be attending the event, but said it was not connected to a campaign by the Brehon Law Society and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
The two groups complained of the UUP's links to the Orange Order, which they blame for stirring sectarian hatred during Northern Ireland's marching season.
The UUP dinner, due to get under way last night at a Manhattan restaurant, is an unusual event in New York, where Sinn Féin is far more prominent and regularly holds fund-raising events.
Mr Roth denied that nationalist groups had played a part in Mr Lauder's absence from the dinner.
"Ronald is out of state on a business trip that was planned months ago. He is a supporter of David Trimble for some years, and admires David Trimble's stand against terrorism in Ireland, the US and Israel," he said.
Mr Lauder, a former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American-Jewish Organisations, has previously expressed admiration for Mr Trimble's stance against Palestinian terrorist groups.
In a letter to Mr Lauder, the president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Mr Ned McGinley, said his organisation would oppose fund-raising events for the UUP while the party's governing council reserved places for Orange Order members.
Referring to Mr Lauder's letter in which he said that Mr Trimble had wide support from Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestants, Mr McGinley said Catholics supporting Mr Trimble would be like chickens voting for the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder, Col Sanders.
The Brehon Law Society, in a letter to Mr Lauder, said the UUP had links to the "avowedly anti-Catholic" Orange Order. The organisation said Mr Lauder should appreciate the damage caused by religious bigots who targeted the Jewish community.