The former songwriter and frontman of influential band The Smiths, Morrissey, has criticised British over-the-top support for its Olympic team, asking "has England ever been so foul with patriotism?'
Morrissey, who has written some of the greatest songs of the last 30 years and never been shy of an opinion, has published a statement to his fan zine, True to You, criticising feel good coverage of the Olympics and saying poverty outside London is being forgotten.
He wrote: "Has England ever been quite so foul with patriotism? The 'dazzling royals' have, quite naturally, hi-jacked the Olympics for their own empirical needs, and no oppositional voice is allowed in the free press. It is lethal to witness."
Morrissey does not name any athletes in his statement but criticises the media and the way the Royal Family have appeared so prominently at a range of sporting events.
"As London is suddenly promoted as a super-wealth brand, the England outside London shivers beneath cutbacks, tight circumstances and economic disasters. Meanwhile the British media present 24-hour coverage of the 'dazzling royals', laughing as they lavishly spend, as if such coverage is certain to make British society feel fully whole.
