Britney SpearsBritney Spears failed to attend a scheduled deposition as part of her ongoing custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline today claiming that she was ill.

Kevin’s legal team have reportedly been trying to get the Gimme More star to submit to questioning for nearly a year and Britney was expected to arrive at lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan’s office in Los Angeles at 10am local time (6pm GMT).

However, a source close to the former teen star told TMZ that the whirlwind surrounding the event got too much for her: “There were a million people outside of her house. She could see all the other madness. The anxiety made her sick. It’s just too crazy.”

Kaplan has confirmed that today’s session has been postponed but he could not say when it would now take place. He added that he would be approaching the court overseeing the custody battle to take the case forward.

The deposition was expect to take a few days in total, with Britney was expected to answer question on a variety of topics including her past (and present) drug & alcohol use, her reported partying behaviour, her alleged failure to follow court orders, the various driving incidents she has been involved in over the last few months and issues of spousal support, as well as direct questions about her relationship with her sons, Sean and Jayden.

Kevin’s legal team have already collected depositions from other key people in Britney’s life including former assistants and bodyguards, her former manager Larry Rudolph and her cousin Alli Sims. Britney’s current confidante Sam Lufti failed to attend his session earlier this month and Kevin’s lawyers are expected to obtain a court order to make Sam testify next month.

UPDATE: Sam Lufti has confirmed it was anxiety problems that caused Britney to back out of the meeting. He told E! last night: “We got up and got ready to go. Her attorneys came to pick her up, but when she saw the media frenzy outside her house, her anxiety sky rocketed.”