Britney Spears has temporarily lost custody of her children in a legal hearing this afternoon.

Up until now, Britney has shared custody of sons Sean and Jayden with ex-husband Kevin Federline on a 50-50 basis but Kevin is seeking a 70-30 division in his favour in the ongoing dispute.

However, Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon has now ordered Kevin to have sole custody of the boys from Wednesday “until further order of the court.”

The Court Commissioner refused to give reasons for his decision, which is believed to have been reached after private meetings with legal representatives for both sides.

Last month, he ordered both Britney and Kevin into parenting classes and to submit to twice-weekly drug and alcohol testing, referencing Britney’s “habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol”.