Justin Welby during his Easter sermon
(Picture: Getty Images)Boris Johnson has hit out at the Archbishop of Canterbury over criticism of his Rwanda refugee plan, claiming the clergy should be condemning Putin instead.
In a speech to Conservative backbenchers on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister said both the BBC and the Archbishop were “less vociferous” in their criticism of the Russian leader than the government over the controversial refugee proposal, reported the Telegraph.
He told MPs that the Rwanda deal was a good policy and claimed it had been “misconstrued” by the Church of England’s leader.
Mr Johnson also reportedly hit out at Sir Keir Starmer during the private meeting, accusing him of “coarsening political debate” after a sharply critical statement from the Opposition leader in response to Mr Johnson’s Partygate apology in the Commons.
Justin Welby, the Church of England’s most senior archbishop, had raised “serious ethical questions” about the Rwanda refugee policy and said it cannot “stand the judgement of God”.
Under the policy, those deemed to have entered Britain by unlawful means since January 1 face being sent to Rwanda to apply for asylum in that country.
In an Easter Sunday sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, the archbishop said “sub-contracting 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”.
He also called for a “Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks,” adding “let the darkness of war be banished”.
The criticism provoked anger among some Conservative MPs.
Without naming the Archbishop, Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote in the Times on Monday: “We are taking bold and innovative steps and it’s surprising that those institutions that criticise the plans fail to offer their own solutions.”
Asked by Sky News about Welby’s intervention in the refugees row, minister Greg Hands said earlier this week: “I think what others, the critics of this plan, need to do is to show what their solution would be”.
On Wednesday, John Bingham, the Church of England’s head of news, said if Mr Johnson’s comments were as reported, they were “a disgraceful slur”.
He linked to a statement by Mr Welby and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell on the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which described it as an “act of great evil”.
Mr Johnson apologised in the Commons on Tuesday after being fined by the police for attending a gathering in the Cabinet Room during lockdown, saying he did not realise he was breaking the law.
Labour leader Keir Starmer called the apology a “joke,” while backbench Conservative MP Mark Harper called on Mr Johnson to resign.
