Sam Smith has defended his decision to share his "shock" about his friend allegedly being racially abused in London on social media after being accused of ignorance about the issue.

On Tuesday, the singer posted a series of tweets after being left "absolutely speechless" by the incident, adding that he had "never ever ever thought that it would happen here".

But some Twitter users suggested the 23-year-old was naive to be surprised that an incident of this nature has taken place.

Some even suggested that Smith was ignorant about the issue because of his "white privilege".

"Ridiculous" to be racist in 2016

In response to the criticism, the singer, who has been nominated for the best original song Oscar for James Bond theme Writing's On The Wall, posted a statement on Instagram insisting he merely wanted to highlight how "ridiculous it is to be racist in 2016"

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said they were "aware" of the tweets, but were unable to comment further.