Prime Minister Theresa May is being urged to reinstate the minister for faith to a full Cabinet position amid reports that the post is being sidelined.
The role was created under the Coalition government, with a brief to work with religious and community leaders to promote faith, religious tolerance and stronger communities.
As a senior Foreign Office minister, the first holder of the post, Baroness Warsi, attended Cabinet meetings. Later the role went to Baroness Williams of Trafford, a junior minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, who as well as looking after “faith and integration” was responsible for the HS2 rail link and much else.
It has since passed to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, a junior minister in the Wales Office as well as in the Department for Communities and Local Government, with a long list of responsibilities for both. Neither Baroness Williams nor Lord Bourne attends Cabinet.
Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds, chair of Christians on the Left, called for the post to be restored to full ministerial level in a standalone role. He told Christian Today: “Understanding and valuing faith communities is paramount to a successful, cohesive, inclusive society … Engaging with [faith communities] is a big job and should be seen as such.” A spokesman for the communities department said: “The Government remains committed to both faith and integration.
“That has clearly been shown by Lord Bourne, who just weeks into the role has already met with dozens of faith communities to celebrate their contributions and discuss their concerns.”
Catholic peer Lord Alton said: “I’d be surprised if Theresa May, a vicar’s daughter, would have made a deliberate decision to downgrade it.”
There is value having someone to champion it inside the Cabinet, he said. “Maybe the Prime Minister herself will champion it.”
Fugitive priest is arrested after five years on the run
A former abbot of Ealing Abbey accused of child sex abuse offences has appeared in court after returning to the UK from Kosovo following a five-year police search for him.
Fr Laurence Soper, 72, appeared at Ealing Magistrates’ Court on Monday. He is now due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on September 19.
Fr Soper was arrested at Luton Airport on Sunday on suspicion of a series of sexual offences against five boys, one aged under 14, allegedly committed at St Benedict’s School in Ealing where he taught in the 1970s and 1980s.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said Fr Soper was “arrested on suspicion of nine offences of sexual assault committed over a period from 1972 to 1986.”
Fr Soper, who was the abbot of Ealing Abbey from 1991 to 2000, was arrested in May under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in Kosovo, but Kosovan courts twice blocked extradition attempts due to the fact that the country has a 30-year statute of limitations.
He was initially arrested in 2010, but failed to report to a London police station in March 2011 after being granted bail.
Volvic angers Orange Order
An advert for a Volvic orange-flavoured water drink with the slogan “Orange and Proud” will not be shown in Ireland or Scotland.
A spokesman for Danone, which produces Volvic, said: “We are aware of the sensitivities, which is why these posters will not appear in Ireland, Northern Ireland or Scotland.”
A spokesman for the Orange Order in Belfast called the decision “bizarre” and “ridiculous”.
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