SIR ELTON JOHN has said he feels betrayed by the government’s path on copyright law after MPs voted down greater protections against AI.

The veteran singer-songwriter called the government “absolute losers” after calls by peers to amend the Data (Use & Access) Bill to include greater copyright protections against artificial intelligence were resisted.

Earlier this week, the House of Lords supported an amendment designed to ensure copyright holders would have to give permission over whether their work was used and, in turn, see what aspects had been taken, by who and when.

But MPs voted 297 to 168 to disagree with this change on Wednesday evening, which means the stand-off between the two Houses over the wording of the Bill continues.

The government has argued that some of the proposed amendments to the Bill pre-empt the results of its copyright and AI consultation and it does not want to legislate in a piecemeal fashion.

Sir Elton is among hundreds of creatives who have urged the government to shore up copyright law.

Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Elton said: “It’s criminal, in that I feel incredibly betrayed.

“The House of Lords did a vote, and it was more than two to one in our favour; the government just looked at it as if to say: ‘Hmmm, well the old people … like me can afford it’.”

The singer said the government was on track to “rob young people of their legacy and their income: it’s a criminal offence, I think.”

He added: “The government are just being absolute losers, and I’m very angry about it.”

Sir Elton also said he was prepared to take ministers to court. “We’ll fight it all the way,” he said.