Madonna Vies To Stop 'Explicit' Photos Leaking

Madonna is trying to prevent a collection of intimate love letters and photographs being made public.

An investment company specializing in Madonna memoriabilia recently purchased letters and photos from former boyfriend James Albright - and is now touting them around to the highest bidder.

The haul includes handwritten notes signed “Spanky”, photos of the singer in explicit poses, as well as personal items such as underwear.

Madonna apparently sent the effects to Albright during their two-year relationship in the early 90s.

A source at Marquee Capital, which is selling the items, insists that this is not a tawdry attempt to cash in at Madonna's expense: "It's not all about sex. Some of the notes and letters talk of her world falling apart, others talk of her feeling really low and down.

"She talks of Albright being the best looking guy in the world and that he does not open up enough to her.

"These letters show us that at the height of her career, she was actually a very insecure woman."

Madonna's lawyers, however, claim that selling them would be an invasion of her privacy and a breach of copyright.

The singer is also understood to be devastated about the arrival of these items on the market at the same time she’s trying to make her adoption of a Malawian baby permanent.

The head of Malawi's child welfare service is about to spend a week with Madonna and her family in London to assess whether they are fit to adopt baby David Banda permanently.