Adele gives the finger at the Brit Awards

The Rolling in the Deep singer, 23, held up her middle finger after she was interrupted during her acceptance speech for winning the award for best album. She told the crowd: "I am so proud to be British and to be flying the flag", just before host James Corden interrupted her to introduce British band Blur.

The audience booed and the singer gestured to express her frustration with the producers. According to the BBC, Adele explained: "I flung the middle finger. That was for the suits at the Brit Awards, not my fans. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but the suits offended me."

A spokesman for the Brit Awards issued an apology in a written statement, explaining: "We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short this evening due to the live show over-running. We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award. It tops off what's been an incredible year for her."