Music legend Jermaine Jackson has praised Birmingham's approach to multiculturalism during a visit to the city at the weekend.

Speaking before an event to honour the UK's top Muslim writers, The Jackson 5 star said the rest of the world could learn from the way different ethnic groups live together in Birmingham and added it was important for people in the West to do more to help people living in poverty.

His comments came as he prepared for the Innovative Muslim Writers Awards ceremony at the Birmingham ICC on Saturday night, where he presented Aliya Vaughan with the award for Writer of the Year.

The 53-year-old, who lives in Dubai but also spends his time in Bahrain, said he had visited the city on a number of occasions during tours with The Jackson 5 and was impressed by the way people from different backgrounds lived together.

"We have been to Birmingham many times," he said. "We used to come through all the time and I think it should be like that. That is how we are supposed to live and get along."

Jermaine, who became a Muslim in the 1980s, said his conversion to Islam had been responsible for making him more aware of issues faced by people living in third world countries.

The singer, who appeared in the controversial series of Celebrity Big Brother last year, was joined at the awards by Dragons' Den star James Caan, 25 MPs, 30 councillors, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Coun Randal Brew and more than 300 business leaders at the awards' second annual showcase event.

Twenty six writers, including novelists, poets, under-16s and journalists, competed for prizes in eight categories, after judges received more than 10,000 entries.