Boris Johnson has been blasted by a Church of England official and a top Tory has been confronted by the BBC over the PM’s “disgraceful slur” on the two organisations in a private Tory meeting.
The Church hit out today after a source claimed the "bullish" Prime Minister hit back at "criticism on the BBC and from senior members of the clergy” of his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
And a BBC presenter accused the PM of a “smokescreen”, “attacking the people he really ought not to be” to deflect from Partygate.
A source close to the PM claimed he complained clergymen had “coincidentally had been less vociferous in their condemnation on Easter Sunday of Putin than they were of our policy on illegal immigrants”.
Two other MPs at the meeting said they did not recall hearing this remark.
But it prompted outrage, with the Church of England's head of news John Bingham saying if the reports were true it was a "disgraceful slur".
He pointed out the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, had publicly condemned Mr Putin's invasion of Ukraine as an "act of great evil".
Likewise, a Tory minister was confronted by the BBC after the Corporation’s reporters risked their lives to cover the war in Ukraine.
Today programme presenter Justin Webb demanded of Paul Scully: “Can you come up with an occasion when Boris Johnson has put his life on the line for the truth, as Lyse Doucet has, as Jeremy Bowen has, as Clive Myrie has?”
Business Minister Mr Scully replied: “It’s not something that I can comment on, in terms of the fact that his view on the BBC’s approach to Putin.”
But Mr Webb continued: “He’s changing the subject, it’s a smoke screen isn’t it, he’s attacking the people he really ought not to be attacking.”
Mr Scully said: “I don’t remember the comment particularly so I am trying to explain the context I believe he may have been trying to make, but it is speculation.
“I know there has been some excellent coverage from the BBC on the ground in Ukraine and that is invaluable.”
Mr Scully distanced himself from the reported comment, saying: “I am not attacking the BBC”.
Mr Johnson used Tory support for the Rwanda plan to encourage his MPs to move on from Partygate at a behind-closed-doors meeting of his parliamentary party.
Under the plan, anyone who arrived “illegally” in the UK under a new crackdown - such as on a Channel dinghy or stowed in a fridge truck - can be deemed “inadmissible” to claim asylum in Britain.
The UK will then detain them before forcing them onto a charter flight nearly 5,000 miles away to Rwanda, and telling them to make an asylum claim there instead.
Home Secretary Priti Patel issued a rare last-minute ‘ministerial direction’ to force the scheme to go ahead - after her Permanent Secretary warned he could not allow it without her written order.
Matthew Rycroft said while he was satisfied “it is regular, proper and feasible for this policy to proceed”, he could not guarantee it would sufficiently deter people from making dangerous Channel crossings to provide value for money.
Archbishop Justin Welby raised "serious ethical questions" about the policy in his Easter Sunday address and said it cannot "stand the judgment of God".
In the sermon, the archbishop said "subcontracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God who himself took responsibility for our failures".
Sources said Mr Johnson accused "senior members of the clergy" of having "misconstrued the policy".
Keir Starmer demanded Boris Johnson “apologise for slandering the Archbishop” but the PM refused to back down.
The PM said at PMQs: “I was slightly taken aback for the government to be criticised over the policy we have devised to end the deaths at sea in the channel as a result of cruel criminal gangs. I was surprised we were attacked for that.”
Labour’s leader also claimed: “The Prime Minister also accused the BBC of not being critical enough of Putin.
"Would the Prime Minister have the guts to say that to the face of (BBC reporters) Clive Myrie, Lyse Doucet and Steve Rosenberg, who have all risked their lives day in, day out, on the frontline in Russia and Ukraine uncovering Putin's barbarism?"
But Mr Johnson did deny saying that, fuming: “I did not attack the BBC last night for their coverage of Ukraine. He must be out of his tiny mind.
“I said no such thing and there are people behind me who will testify to that."
Mr Johnson’s careful denial did not contradict what a source close to the PM said last night.
In fact, the source said he accused the Archbishop of Canterbury of being keener to criticise the Rwanda refugees policy than Putin - but didn’t quite say the same of the BBC.
The source had said: "He said it was a very good policy despite some criticism from the BBC and some criticism from senior members of the clergy - who coincidentally had been less vociferous in their condemnation on Easter Sunday of Putin than they were of our policy on illegal immigrants."
The PM’s Press Secretary confirmed the “vociferous” part of the comment was referring to the clergy, not the BBC.
