Bell is known for his trademark white suit

Bell recorded Media Junkies to expose what he felt was the dumbing down of news, with showbiz and sports taking precedence over current affairs.

The former BBC reporter, known for his trademark white suit, has sung the single in a hip-hop style.

As well as taking a dig at news values, Bell is also raising money for the Unicef charity.

He said he had become appalled that important news events had been ignored in favour in glitzy showbiz stories in recent years.

But he believes young people deserve the choice of in-depth reporting and that the Iraqi crisis had fuelled an interest in politics once again.

Although Bell did not write the lyrics to Media Junkies, he said the issue was something he had long spoken out against and sees the single as a way to reach a new audience.

Five seconds of fame

The song pulls no punches and showbiz couple Victoria and David Beckham is just one of the targets.

One verse goes: "Fergie and Andrew, Posh and Becks, MP exposed in kinky sex.

"Fame's the spur and stardom beckons, let's all be famous for five seconds."

Bell turned from reporter to MP in 1997 when he stood for election in Tatton, Cheshire, beating disgraced Conservative Neil Hamilton.

The independent candidate put himself up for election again in 2001, contesting Brentwood and Ongar in Essex.

After losing he decided to retire from politics.

But he is realistic about his chances of making it in the fickle world of pop.

"I can hardly claim to be a great performing artist," he said.