Morrissey v NME - Getting old?

I have been a fan and follower of Morrissey since 1985 or thereabouts, so over twenty years, and throughout that time he has courted controversy. In the early nineties he had a massive falling out with the NME who suggested he might be a racist. Morrissey had draped himself in a Union Jack at a Madness gig in front of a crowd of skinheads and been bottled off for his trouble. Now he has done it again, suggesting to some cub reporter that England has lost it's identity due to immigration and that you are unlikely to hear an English voice if you walk down Knightsbridge. Morrissey has made a statement in the Guardian (rock 'n' roll !) putting his case and describing NME as devious, truculent and unreliable. Hang on a moment..... Isn't that how a certain Judge described Morrissey when ruling against him in the action brought by his former rhythm section for stiffing them over their royalties?
I don't believe that Morrissey is a racist and he still inspires my admiration. He still writes a great song or two ( one or two per album in recent times) but he should really know better. He sounds like my Dad and the fact that I have sympathy with his opinions suggests I'm getting old.
He wouldn't have come out with this stuff in 1985 and I wouldn't have expected him to for a second. But then he has lived in LA and Rome for that last several years and has another Greatest Hits album coming out soon and the NME's readership is flagging.