Morrissey’s manager has said that the NME are guilty of an "attempt at character assassination" of the singer.
Morrissey is quoted in the NME as having said: "Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. So the price is enormous."
However, a later issue of the NME reported that Morrissey had clarified his earlier comments, by saying: "It could be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all."
But Morrissey's lawyers have nevertheless demanded an apology from the NME for suggesting the singer is racist, and have threatened to take legal action against the magazine and its editor, Conor McNichols unless a public retraction is made.
