Lily Allen claims black cab driver told her: 'Find an immigrant to drive you, you stupid tart'

'Let's stamp out this horrible ignorance together,' singer urged

Lily Allen (REX Features)

Lily Allen says she was told to find an immigrant to drive her and branded a "stupid tart" by a black cab driver when she and her children were attempting to flag down a taxi.

The “Smile” singer relayed the incident to her 5.8 million followers on Twitter on Friday.

The 31-year-old explained she had been trying to hail a taxi for herself and her two children when the driver said: “Find an immigrant to drive you, you stupid tart”.

Allen said the incident provided a “tiny glimpse” into how it feels to be discriminated against and called for more to be done to stamp out xenophobia and racism.

Replying to one user who asked for the vehicle registration plate number, Allen said she had “both my hands full with children” and could not get to her phone fast enough to note the details down.

A spokesperson for Transport for London told The Independent they are looking into Allen’s tweets.

Allen has been a vocal campaigner for refugees and recently visited the Calais migrant camp before its closure this week. During the visit, she became emotional and apologised to a young child refugee “on behalf of my country” which sparked anger on social media and in various sections of the tabloid media such as the Daily Star who printed a picture of her crying on its front page referring to her as a “sobbing luvvie”.

The Conservative MP David Davies even brought Allen up when defending his widely condemned call for child refugees who have been permitted to enter the UK to undergo dental checks as a part of a more “hard-nosed” approach, saying: “It’s not good Lily Allen turning up with tears in her eyes and all the rest of it”.

Earlier this week, Allen accused the tabloid media of trying to silence celebrities by presenting them as out of touch in order to push their own agendas.