The veteran musician, who has two sons who were conceived via surrogate, publicly chastised the Italian style duo, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, for labelling children born using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) "chemical offsprings" from a "rented uterus".

Ford, who also has a son conceived via IVF, has now waded into the row and called out his fellow fashion designers for offending gay dads.

He tells the London Evening Standard, "I found (the comments) incredibly ignorant and insensitive. I was quite shocked."

He adds of being a father to Jack, two, with his husband Richard Buckley, "It's stress worrying and thinking about your child, which takes your mind off your work or what such-and-such said that p**sed you off. It's a break from yourself... For some gay men, their houses become their children. It was that case for me, but I just don't care as much any more. I have moments where I think, 'Oh s**t!' It's not exactly a pig sty, but it's not as immaculate."