LONDON, April 4: The BBC faces criticism for airing a controversial rap song that compares Queen Elizabeth II to Saddam Hussein and accuses Britain's royal family of murdering Princess Diana, The Sunday Telegraph said.

" Great Britain", written and performed by Scor-Zay-Zee - a hip-hop performer who has recently converted to Islam - is a strongly worded diatribe against the British way of life.

"The BBC should not be playing this song," John Beyer, the director of Media watch UK, told the newspaper. "There is no justification for giving airspace to something as offensive as this," he added.

The rapper claims that Britain's young people are being "brain-washed and put in a daze" by an out-of-control consumer culture. Over the course of the four-minute song the lyrics also manage to take pot shots at Britain's support for Israel and its special relationship with the United States, which is labelled "The Devil." -AFP