Hamilton criticised for 'slums' comment

Lewis Hamilton has come under fire from residents and council figures in his hometown of Stevenage, by saying during the Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony on Sunday that it was always his dream to escape the "slums" of his upbringing.

The five-time Formula 1 world champion was one of the nominees for the main award, at the weekend, but ended up losing out to Tour de France winner, Geraint Thomas.

During the ceremony, he said to host, Gabby Logan:

"It really was a dream for us all as a family to do something different. For us to get out of the slums.

"Well, not the slums, but to get out of somewhere and do something. We all set our goals very, very high but we did it as a team."

Hamilton immediately received criticism on social media for the words, and now has been the subject of more by officials within the Stevenage council.

"It is disappointing that Lewis Hamilton referred to Stevenage as 'the slums' at such a high-profile event," said Stevenage Borough Council leader Sharon Taylor.

"He clearly realised what he had said and tried to correct it but sadly the people of our town, many of whom admire and support him, felt very offended."

Residents of Stevenage took to social media to vent their outrage, including Team England para-badminton player Gobi Ranganathan, who wrote on Twitter:

"I for one am proud to fly the flag for Stevenage. It's made me who I am today.

"It's not perfect, but it's home. And it has a lot to offer if people just open their eyes."

Hamilton is yet to comment on the criticism.

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