Sir Elton John believes Britain has become less tolerant of same-sex marriage and gay rights. He now admits his home country is less tolerant and says it’s an unhealthy place to live.

The star, who wed David Furnish in 2014, told The Observer: “You know, I don’t like it here at the moment, to be honest. I don’t like the hatred here.

It’s like David said recently, it’s like a boil has been lanced that was there for a long time and suddenly all this hatred has come to the surface.”

The iconic artist praised the way his home used to be, but insists something has changed without explanation in recent years: “People have been OK about gay marriage and things like that and suddenly they’re not. I have never, ever thought this of this country until now.

I was always proud to come from here and to live here, because there are different opposing views about everything but it’s a pretty civilised place. At the moment, though, it’s not, and I don’t like it. It’s horrible.”

Sir Elton has also come to notice a rise in anti-gay actions and rhetoric throughout the world. He urges prominent voices to speak up and help fight this injustice, as he says we are living in “very strange times.”

He continued: “I remember going to Moscow when the gay scene was rampant and you’d go to this club in Moscow where nude boys would be swimming though a tank and stuff like that.

Then the mayor of St Petersburg started taking books out of libraries and clamping down. It’s just extraordinary. We live in very strange times, but there are voices of reason and they need to be heard.”