Michael Jackson's body was treated with “more prestige” than normal during the singer's post-mortem, an investigator has said.

Lieutenant David Smith told Sky News he watched as Jackson's body arrived at the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office in June.

"This is great equaliser, if you will," he said.

"I was here when it happened, so I watched the weighing in (and) he was treated basically the same as everybody else, but a little more prestige was granted.”

Smith said Jackson's special treatment was for “his own privacy and protection”, adding: “He was kept very much under lock and key."

The results from Jackson's post-mortem, which was carried out on June 26 – a day after his death – are due soon.

The coroner's office has deferred publishing a cause of death pending the outcome of toxicology tests.

(by Jason Gregory)