SINGER Morrissey says he was quizzed by the FBI and Special Branch over his outspoken criticism of the US and British governments.

The former Smiths frontman, who has previously branded American President George Bush a terrorist and denounced the war in Iraq, said the experience showed neither country was a democratic society.

He told the NME: "The FBI and the Special Branch have investigated me and I've been interviewed and taped and so forth."

The singer, who lives in Los Angeles, added: "They were trying to determine if I was a threat to the government, and similarly in England.

"But it didn't take them very long to realise that I'm not.

Political

"I don't belong to any political groups, I don't really say anything unless I'm asked directly and I don't even demonstrate in public."

Explaining what he thought had prompted the move, the 46-year-old said: "My view is that neither England or America are democratic societies. You can't really speak your mind and if you do you're investigated even though it's just a basic process that must be done."

In 2004 Morrissey urged American voters to get rid of President Bush, saying he had turned the US into the most "neurotic and terror-obsessed country on the planet".

He sparked controversy earlier that year when he reportedly told a concert in Dublin he wished the current president had died instead of Ronald Reagan.