The British singer James Arthur is getting very personal in his hostility towards Irish band The Script – and it could backfire badly. The singer broke away during a cover of Jorja Smith’s ‘Blue Lights’ to do a freestyle rap where he made what amount to abusive remarks about the Dublin-born hitmakers, dubbing them "jealous snakes."

The bizarre outburst from the former X-Factor winner was clearly planned, and comes in response to the fact that there is an ongoing legal issue between Arthur and The Script in relation to alleged plagiarism – on his part.

Last year, it emerged that The Script weere concerned about James Arthur similarities between Arthur's 'Say You Won't Let Go' and the band's 2008 hit 'The Man Who Can’t Be Moved'. 'Say You Won't Let Go' was a huge hit for Arthur, hitting the No.1 spot in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. The song was written by Arthur himself, with Neil Ormandy and Steve Solomon.

In response to the charge that his song infringed on the copyright of The Script's hit, Arthur told the Sun at the time:

“It’s 2017, there’s only seven notes in music,” he said. “Every blues song sounds the fucking same. People get wound up about these things for no reason."

Clearly, The Script beg to disagree. Having decided initially not to pursue a legal action, they filed a lawsuit in May of this year. Clearly, with a mega-hit, the royalties at stake are indeed likely to be considerable, and Arthur's goading makes a settlement far less likely between the warring camps.

Whatever about the rights and wrongs – and in Hot Press, we can say for sure that The Script would not issue a lawsuit if there were not real grounds for believing that there has been a direct influence from one song to the other – there is little or no likelihood of an amiable solution being reached if Arthur continues in his vitriolic campaign.

Check out the performance here: