Archbishop savages 'drug addict' Brown

The Archbishop of Canterbury has clashed with Gordon Brown, accusing him of encouraging people to behave “like drug addicts” in the economic crisis.

The Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury

Rowan Williams also accused the Prime Minister of presiding over an “immoral” economy by promoting endless borrowing.

The Church of England chief sparked new controversy by suggesting that the downturn was “a reality check” which could be good for the country.

And he risked outraging those losing jobs and facing home repossession by saying he hoped the credit crunch would encourage people to turn away from get-rich-quick greed and think about helping others instead.

Mr Brown hit back with a refe- rence to the Biblical story of the good Samaritan, saying he would not “walk by on the other side” when people faced problems.

Speaking in a radio interview yesterday, the outspoken church leader said Britain had been “going in the wrong direction” for decades by relying on financial speculation to make money fast rather than “making things”. Having backed itself “into a corner”, he said, the UK must rediscover “patience” and rethink its attitudes to material gain.

I would like to think that in this sort of crisis people would be reflecting more on how you develop a volunteer culture, how you develop a culture of ­people willing to put their ser­vices at the needs of others so that there can be a more active, a mo

Rowan Williams

Asked if the credit crunch had been beneficial, Dr Williams said: “It is a sort of reality check, isn’t it, which is always good for us.

“A reminder that what I think some people have called fairy gold is just that, sooner or later you have to ask: ‘What are we making or what are we assembling or accumulating wealth for?’.”

He added: “I would like to think that in this sort of crisis people would be reflecting more on how you develop a volunteer culture, how you develop a culture of ­people willing to put their ser­vices at the needs of others so that there can be a more active, a more vital civil society.”

He voiced concern over the Government’s fiscal stimulus package including a VAT cut to encourage spending. Asked if more spending was the right way to tackle the downturn, Dr Williams said: “It seems a bit like the addict returning to the drug.”

He added that he was braced for criticism. Since he was not an economist he was “suicidally ­silly” to comment but he wanted to ask where the “moral questions” were in the downturn.

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said the Archbishop was making a powerful warning about the Government’s mistakes.

“The Archbishop is raising the very important moral question of whether it can be right for Gordon Brown to saddle future generations with huge debts.”

Mr Brown responded that as the son of a Church of Scotland minister he always listened carefully to the clergy.

He agreed with Dr Williams on the need for a strong civil society “and for responsibility and the need to act against irresponsible behaviour when it appears in the banking and financial systems as it has in recent times.

“But I think the Archbishop would also agree with me that every time someone becomes unemployed or loses their home or a small business fails it is our duty to act and we should not walk by on the other side when people are facing problems.”

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