Lily Allen Twitter complaint investigated by Army

Published Jul 11 2012, 11:47 BST  |  By Greg Laing

Lily Allen has complained about a tweet from an apparent member of the British Army, which has confirmed that it is investigating the matter.

The Twitter message was from a man named Harry Wilson, whose profile stated that he was an Army employee.

Commenting on rumours that Allen was adopting a child, he wrote: "All the best with your new family just seen you bought s**t I mean adopted a child from Africa."

Allen informed the Ministry of Defence about the tweet, in a message that has now been removed, writing: "Do you condone (these) racist comments? He needs disciplining."

Metro quotes an Army spokesman as stating: "Racism of any kind is completely unacceptable and the Army has a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of harassment and discrimination.

"We are aware of the alleged offensive comments and are investigating the matter. It would be inappropriate to comment further while this is ongoing."

Allen has subsequently received criticism for her actions, some of which she has highlighted on her Twitter account.

"Just a few examples of the drivel I'm being subjected to for reporting that guy yesterday," she wrote today (July 11).

The tweets listed included one declaring: "Good morning @lilyrosecooper you piece of low life scum! ‪#HarryWilsonIsNotRacist‬ ‪#harrywilsonisahero."

It has been suggested by users that any allegation of racism hinges on whether a comma was intended before or after the word "s**t".

When one person criticised Allen for "for misreading the comment and jumping the gun", Allen replied: "No, his fault for mis-writing more like! IF that's the case, and if it is, then I'm sure his superiors will understand."