Morrissey has claimed that the Ukip leadership election was rigged to ensure an anti-Islam activist did not win.

The singer made the comments during a live appearance on BBC 6 Music.

Morrissey said: “I was very surprised the other day – it was very interesting to me – to see Anne Marie Waters become the head of Ukip. Oh no, sorry she didn’t – the voting was rigged. Sorry, I forgot.”

As Morrissey’s comments were met by silence from the audience, he added: “You didn’t get it, did you? You obviously don’t read the news.”

Anne-Marie Waters, who has previously described Islam as “evil”, came second to Henry Bolton on Friday as the party elected its fourth leader within the space of a year.

Waters received 2,755 votes to Bolton’s 3,874.

The 6 Music session comes as Morrissey prepares to unveil his latest album, Low In High School, which is set for release on November 17.

The November 2017 issue of Uncut is now on sale in the UK – featuring The Beatles on the cover. Elsewhere in the issue, there are new interviews with Beck, Michael Head, The Jacksons, Neil Finn and we celebrate the legacy of Woody Guthrie and remember Walter Becker. We review David Bowie, The Smiths, Margo Price, Robert Plant and Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett. Our free CD features 15 tracks of the month’s best music, including Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile, Gregg Allman, Margo Price, The Weather Station and more.