Lily Allen has called for a change in the way votes are cast for the awards, after the recent omissions of grime artists Skepta, Stormzy and JME from the shortlists.

In response to an article that was written in the Guardian newspaper about the lack of black British musicians who are recognized in the awards nominations, Allen voiced her beliefs in a lengthy Facebook post, which it seems has since been deleted.

She stated that, "the voting academy consists of 1000 music industry figures, and here lies the problem, music industry figures don't necessarily care about music, they mostly care about themselves.”

She then went on to label independent artists such as Skepta as “a direct threat to music industry figures,” if they were to win an award.

The lack of diversity in the shortlist has drawn heavy criticism from both outside and inside the industry, but Allen was keen to point out it was more of a business related problem than a racial one in the Brit awards case. “They are all unsigned artists, who would gain from them winning anything? Imagine Skepta or Stormy won, who would they thank in their speeches, whose ego would get massaged?”  

"Awards mean £££ and promotions. I don't think music industry figures even look at artists as artists when it comes to voting for these things” she concluded.