James Blunt has called a prominent British politician a "classist gimp".

However, James - who attended the prestigious Harrow School - has hit back, writing: "Dear Chris Bryant MP, You classist gimp. I happened to go to a boarding school. No one helped me at boarding school to get into the music business.

"I bought my first guitar with money I saved from holiday jobs (sandwich packing!). I was taught the only four chords I know by a friend. No one at school had ANY knowledge or contacts in the music business, and I was expected to become a soldier or a lawyer or perhaps a stockbroker.

"So alien was it, that people laughed at the idea of me going into the music business, and certainly no one was of any use."

James - who served six years in the military - insists his background has always been a hindrance to his music career, not a help.

He added: "Every step of the way, my background has been AGAINST me succeeding in the music business. And when I have managed to break through, I was STILL scoffed at for being too posh for the industry.

"And then you come along, looking for votes, telling working class people that posh people like me don't deserve it, and that we must redress the balance. But it is your populist, envy-based, vote-hunting ideas which make our country crap, far more than me and my s*** songs, and my plummy accent."

The Labour Party MP has responded to the letter by telling James not to be "so blooming precious".