Gatecrashers saga: White House accepts some blame

Washington: The White House has shouldered some of the blame for an embarrassing breach of security that led an uninvited couple to gatecrash President Barack Obama's debut state dinner last week.

The White House said it would in the future ensure that White House staff are physically stationed alongside Secret Service agents to screen guests at official events.

The couple at the centre of the controversy, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, deny they crashed the party and insisted during a television appearance on Tuesday they had been invited guests, a claim the White House has flatly denied.