Receiving her album award the 23-year-old from London said: "Nothing makes me prouder than coming home with six Grammys, then coming to the BRITs and winning album of the year. I'm so proud to be British and to be flying the flag and I'm so proud to be in the room with all of you."

Her night ended on a slightly sour note though when she gestured to the crowd with her middle finger after her acceptance speech was cut short.

Adele later said the insult was aimed at "the suits", after the host, James Corden, was forced to interrupt her because of time constraints.

Backstage, she said: "I flung the middle finger at the suits, not the fans. Sorry if I offended anyone, but the people in suits offended me. I didn't get to complete my thank you speech."

ITV issued a hasty apology, saying in a statement: "The Brits is a live event. Sadly, the programme was overrunning and we had to move on. We would like to apologise to Adele for the interruption."

Brits organisers also said sorry: "We regret this happened and we send deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short due to the live show overrunning.

"We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning her awards."

Her album, 21, is the biggest-seller of the 21st century, shifting 17 million copies so far. Since the release of 21, Adele has overcome throat surgery which threatened to cut off her career in its prime.