James Blunt revealed yesterday that he helped prevent World War III by refusing an order to attack Russian troops while serving with the British army in Kosovo.

The ‘You're Beautiful’ singer claimed that he and his fellow troops were ordered to seize control of an airport in Kosovo from Russian forces, but he refused the direction.

Talking to BBC Radio 5Live, Blunt said: "I was given the direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there. The direct command [that] came in from General Wesley Clark was to overpower them.

"And if we had a foothold there then it would make life much easier for the NATO forces in Pristina. So there was a political reason to take hold of this. And the practical consequences of that political reason would be then aggression against the Russians."

When asked if the order could have resulted in WWIII, Blunt said: "Absolutely. And that's why we were querying our instruction from an American general. Fortunately, up on the radio came General Mike Jackson, whose exact words at the time were, 'I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War III'."

General Mike Jackson has supported Blunt’s claim, saying to the BBC: “What we were asked to do was – you’ve heard James Blunt and now you’re hearing me – against the general thrust of our military judgement.

“The manner of [the Russians’] arrival was somewhat unscripted, but there were ways around it.”

Watch Blunt in his more recent career, singing international hit ‘You're Beautiful’ at the BBC below: