Morrissey

The outspoken former Smiths singer has branded military action and nuclear weapons as "heterosexual hobbies" and thinks the world would be a better place if same-sex relationships were encouraged more.

In an interview with Rookie magazine, he said: "War, I thought, was the most negative aspect of male heterosexuality. If more men were homosexual, there would be no wars, because homosexual men would never kill other men, whereas heterosexual men love killing other men. They even get medals for it. Women don't go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies."

Not finished with his controversial statements, the staunch animal rights campaigner also believes the "most political gesture" anyone can make is to be vegetarian, because it is a stand against capitalism and corporations.

Morrissey, 53, said: "The most political gesture you can make is to refuse to eat animals. It was so when I was a teenager, and is still the case now."

While the 'How Soon is Now' hitmaker is "encouraged" by companies testing less on animals, he doesn't believe the move is done to appease public concerns as governments won't outlaw cigarettes or tobacco products.

He said: "It isn't difficult these days, because lots of companies have abandoned animal testing, mainly because they know people no longer want animal-tested products - for moral reasons, but also because of the logical realisation that a test on an animal doesn't have any bearing of how human skin will react to the same ingredient.

"[Some of the major companies] have started to turn their back on animal torture, and that's very encouraging. And some companies - Clarins, for example - say they do not test on animals ... But if there were any real concerns for public safety, then cigarettes, which kill most of their customers, would never be sold."