Morrissey 'considering London mayoral bid'

Morrissey is famous for his vegetarianism

The singer Morrissey is said to be "considering very seriously" an invitation to enter the London mayoral race.

An entry on his semi-official website revealed he had been asked to stand by the Animal Welfare Party.

A statement by the singer on the website said he wanted to speak out "against the hellish and archaic social injustice allotted to animals".

The Animal Welfare Party confirmed it had approached him to represent them.

Animal rights

Vanessa Hudson, the party leader, told BBC London: "We'd like to see the mayoral contest include the views of a candidate who would seek to champion London, not only as a world leading city for people but for animal welfare, too."

Morrissey, who has been vocal on the subject of animal rights and vegetarianism for many years, said in his statement: "What animal protectionists need to say is very well worth saying and well worth hearing.

"But we cannot just sit around waiting for establishment enlightenment. The sanctimonious disaster of animal agriculture cannot be allowed to go on forever, because its widespread impact is hellish."

Morrissey is from Manchester and has lived in London, Los Angeles and Rome.

To be eligible to stand, he would need to be registered to vote in London, or show that he had lived, worked, or owned property there for 12 months.

A candidate also needs the signatures of 10 registered electors from each London borough and a deposit of £10,000.

Nominations for London mayoral candidates close at the end of March.