The main opposition party has announced its opposition to a new policy proposal that would disconnect repeat offenders who regularly use BitTorrent, and websites such as The Pirate Bay, to find and download music and movie files.
Some argue that illegal file sharing deprives recording artists, studios and labels of legitimate revenue, while a recent report claimed that internet users who illegally share files are more likely to buy music and films than those who do not.
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said that government business secretary Lord Mandelson had "gone for the soundbite" with the plans.
"Do we really want to prosecute someone that does a video of their cat with a Beatles soundtrack behind it and posts it on YouTube?" he asked.
Allen, who is never one to shy away from voicing her opinion on everything from the England cricket team to government policy, slated artists who have spoken out against the proposed measures in a blog post: .
Allen criticised "rich and successful artists" such as Ed O'Brien, of Radiohead, and Nick Mason, the Pink Floyd drummer, who came out last week in support of Mandelson's ideas, arguing that file-sharing had some beneficial effects for artists.
The duo are both part of the Featured Artists Coalition, which opposes Mandelson's plans and claims his policy would criminalise young people.
O'Brien said: "My generation grew up with the point of view that you pay for your music. Every generation has a different method. File-sharing is like a sampler, like taping your mate's music. You go, 'I like that, I'll go and buy the album'. Or, 'You know what, I'll go and see them live'.
However, Allen, who is notorious for her vitriolic outbursts, hit back in typical style, arguing: "I think music piracy is having a dangerous effect on British music, but some really rich and successful artists like Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O'Brien from Radiohead don't seem to think so.
"Last week in an article in The Times these guys from huge bands said file-sharing music is fine. It probably is fine for them. They do sell-out arena tours and have the biggest Ferrari collections in the world.
"For new talent, though, file-sharing is a disaster as it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge.
"The Featured Artists Coalition also says file-sharing's fine because it 'means a new generation of fans for us'. This is great if you're a big artist at the back end of your career with loads of albums to flog to a new audience, but emerging artists don't have this luxury."
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