Mel B gets motherly support

Mel B's mother Melanie Brown swears she's got her daughter's back "no matter what".

The former Spice Girl has been embroiled in rumours of marital turmoil with husband Stephen Belafonte. And whilst her relationship with her mum has notoriously been strained, it seems Christmas has delivered some extra love.

Before promising to always support her daughter, however, Andrea Brown added a suggestive disclaimer.

"Had 6yrs of vile abuse," she wrote on the social networking platform the day after Christmas, "but no matter what we will always have Melanie's back that she can rely on!! (sic)"

Her apparently loving tweet comes just days after she used the medium to slam her daughter's husband. Amid reports that Stephen physically abused Mel B, Andrea added her own negative thoughts on his manner.

"Little good news 4 me lost half a stone in 1 week+ will never suffer a vile abusive 3am call from stephan Belafonti again!! (sic)" Andrea had written on December 18.

Meanwhile, Mel's daughter Phoenix has stood up in defense of Stephen. Making use of her own Twitter account on Christmas, the teenager denied he laid a hand on her mother.

"Can everyone just chill he didn't hit my mom don't know how that stupid rumour came up," she wrote.

Stephen, who has been married to Mel for seven years, has been accused of being unfaithful and abusive.

But the producer came forward earlier this week insisting he had nothing to do with her bruised appearance on last week's X Factor UK despite salacious claims.

"I had nothing to do with hurting my wife," Stephen told British newspaper The Sun. "I did not touch Mel. I didn't hit her. I wasn't cheating or anything. There was no girl involved."

Mel has yet to directly comment on the claims.