The Arts Council is spending too much money on “posh” opera and giving other music genres a raw deal, a leading figure in the British music industry has claimed.

For every £1 awarded to pop music, £8 goes to opera companies - a situation that is “manifestly unjust” according to UK Music, the umbrella organisation that represents the commercial music industry.

Michael Dugher, the former Labour MP and chief executive of UK Music, complained that the Arts Council risks being seen as "too posh for pop" and called for an urgent review of funding arrangements.

However, opera companies disagreed, with one opera chief describing Mr Dugher's comments as "b-------".

Over the next five years, opera will receive grants totalling more than £228 million via the Arts Council’s National Portfolio, with classical music receiving £85 million. Pop music will receive around £28 million, while jazz, world music, folk, brass band and choral organisations are further down the scale.