Mel B claims victims of financial abuse are being ignored by authorities.

The Spice Girls singer claims her own ex-husband, Stephen Belafonte, refused to allow her to carry a bank card and she saw a lot of her £80 million fortune disappear during their 10-year marriage, so she wants to use her voice to help other women in a similar position.

And Mel has hit out at the Financial Ombudsman Service for failing victims of financial abuse - a form of domestic abuse where a person loses access to money, has debt taken out in their name or is prevented from going to work by a partner - by not understanding the implication of their rulings.

She told the Times newspaper: ''It makes me so angry and so sad, because women who have already suffered so much are not receiving help or justice from the only official channels.

''We desperately need to make changes, and the ombudsman, being the last port of call for women looking to separate their finances from a controlling partner, needs to understand not just the epidemic of abuse out there, but the implications for the women involved and the further financial abuse that is just being ignored.''

A number of banks and building societies signed up to the Financial Abuse Code of Practice in October 2018, where staff are trained to spot and assist people in need of help, and the ombudsman service - which said they are aware of 210 potential cases - insisted it is an issue they take seriously.

They said: ''We take instances of financial abuse very seriously, and we understand the devastating impact it can have on people's lives. We believe that our service does help provide justice for victims of financial abuse, within the remit of what we are allowed to look into.''