Naughty Boy wants to search Britain's prisons for new singers.

The 30-year-old producer - whose real name is Shahid Khan - has revealed he is on the lookout for fresh talent and said he wants to recruit prisoners because ''everyone deserves a second chance''.

He told The Sun newspaper: ''Coming out of there is sometimes the hardest thing in life.

''You can imagine that there are people in there who are writing songs and can sing and they feel like they have to give up because of where they are.

''Whatever offence they've committed, everyone deserves a second chance. I want to make this year more about giving back and helping people.''

His latest initiative comes just days after former One Direction singer Zayn Malik publicly slammed him on Twitter, despite the fact they used to be friends and had made music together.

In the outburst, Zayn wrote: ''you fat joke stop pretending we're friends no one knows you . (sic)''

And sources suggest the 22-year-old musician's decision to lash out was because he blamed the producer for his solo music leaking.

A source said: ''Zayn was very close to Naughty Boy when he left One Direction.

''Zayn is angry about the music that got leaked and blamed Naughty Boy.

''Zayn didn't like not being in control. This has been the sparking point.''