Lady Sovereign addresses sexuality

Lady Sovereign has confirmed reports that she is lesbian.

The singer, who was once labelled Jay-Z's protégé after signing a record deal with US label Def Jam, admitted that she would have come out sooner if publicists had not persuaded her to keep it a secret.

In an interview with Diva magazine, she said: "Magazines would always ask about [my sexuality] but [they] would get stopped by my publicists. It was my choice, too, because I was a bit worried about it - but now I don't really give a s**t.

"You can't hide away forever. It's just stupid and now I've come out I feel a lot more comfortable with myself. But it was a bit scary back then, because some people do have horrible opinions."

Sovereign, real name Louise Harman, fuelled rumours about her sexuality after admitting to having slept with women when she appeared on last year's Celebrity Big Brother.