Morrissey slammed for glamorising suicide

Veteran singer Morrissey has evoked criticism after speaking about killing himself and glamorising suicide.

The legendary crooner, known for his gloomy lyrics and depressing song titles, told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that he thinks "self-destruction is honourable".

"Yes I have [thought about ending it all] and I think self-destruction is honourable. I always thought it was an act of great control and I understand people who do it," The Daily Express quoted him as saying. The 50-year-old sparked outrage among friends of people who had ended their own lives and mental health campaigners.

A spokeswoman for mental health charity Sane said: "Anything which glorifies something as terrible as self- harm is of great concern. We are facing an increase in this kind of behaviour among young people. It's a great pity that someone as famous as Morrissey should make self-harm and suicide seem heroic. Those of us who hear from young people contemplating suicide know there is nothing romantic about the idea and realise they are in real distress."

Stuart Goldsmith, whose best friend hanged himself while grieving over the death of his girlfriend, said: "For someone with as much influence as Morrissey to make these remarks is very worrying.

"I've seen the despair suicide can cause and it absolutely devastates families. That's what it did to Mark's family. "If Morrissey has those feelings then he should keep them to himself. If he thinks 'self destruction' is 'honour-able' that's his decision as a person. What he is doing, though, is feeding these opinions to millions via the BBC.

"There is every possibility that among those listeners is someone who is feeling depressed, suicidal, who may be encouraged to take their own life by these sort of remarks."