Britney Spears Defends 'Criminal' Video After London Riots Backlash

Britney Spears has defended the plot of her new music video, which sees her running around North London with a gun.

The singer was criticised by MPs and other politicians after she shot the clip for 'Criminal' in Stoke Newington earlier this month.

In photos released online, Spears and boyfriend Jason Trawick are seen playing gun-carrying robbers who target several different shops in the North London borough.

MPs said Spears' video was ill-timed because it was shot just weeks after the riots in London.

But in a statement released to MTV, Spears' management company said: "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened.”

'Criminal', taken from the singer's seventh studio album 'Femme Fatale', will be released on November 21.

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