The annual debate over The Pogues ‘Fairytale of New York’ has begun and Shane MacGowan has weighed in on the dispute defending the “cheap lousy faggot” lyrics.

During a Late Late Show special last Friday, MacGowan claimed that “nobody in the band thinks that’s worth a second thought”.

He added that for him, “there is no political correctness to it.”

“I’ve been told it’s insulting to gays,” he explained. “I don’t understand how that works. Nobody in the band thinks that’s worth a second’s thought.”

In 2018, the debate over ‘Fairytale of New York’ reached fever pitch with a viral post which compared it to the n-word and asked that people stop singing it.

Last year, in a statement released to The Tonight Show, MacGowan explained, “The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character.

“She is not supposed to be a nice person or even a wholesome person. She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate.

“Her dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend! She is just supposed to be an authentic character and not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty in order to tell the story effectively.”

Currently at the centre of this year’s feud are two Panto heavyweights: Adele King (Twink) and Rory Cowan.

Twink took aim at The Late Late Show for dedicating the entire show to a “dishevelled inarticulate drunk” Shane MacGowan.

Twink took to social media to share her thoughts on the show saying: “I have always considered Shane MacGowan a disgrace to us… a dishevelled… inarticulate drunk who wrote ONE song we can remember… and one I’d rather not… I have always LOATHED… THAT song!

“I had the misfortune to have a brief showbiz encounter with him on a New Year’s Eve… many, many, many moons ago…

“As he was helped across the floor (locked) all I could smell was alcohol.

“So to hear him revered by the LL (Late Late) show and referred to constantly as a genius… hailed as a legend by celebs… made me want to throw up!!!”

In response to Twink’s comments, Rory Cowan called her a “Grinch who ruined Christmas”.

The pair have been feuding since 2017 when they fell out over King’s TV comeback.

Rory, who was the marketing manager for EMI in New York at the time of the song’s release, said:

“Twink didn’t have to say any of this.

“She knows about how hurtful comments can be because when her TV show was on, the internet was full of people saying nasty things.

“People saying her show was sh**e and it was. Yet she goes ahead and comes out with this? Why?

“Adele is definitely not qualified to comment on Shane. Have you heard a song like Rainy Night In Soho, the lyrics are pure genius.”