Archbishop Gets High Level Support

The weekend controversy surrounding the Archbishop of Canterbury's controversial comments on sharia law has taken a new turn today - with the Prime Minister even weighing in on the issue.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the "great integrity" and "dedication" of Dr Rowan Williams, who now has - to use his own words - "taken responsibility" for the furore surrounding his comments.

The PM's spokesman commented: "The Archbishop has been clarifying and setting in a wider context the comments he has made and I'm sure he will continue to do so in the future."

But he went on: "The Prime Minister is very clear that British laws must be based on British values and that religious law, while respecting other cultures, should be subservient to British criminal and civil law."

The Downing Street spokesman continued: "The Prime Minister believes the Archbishop of Canterbury is a man of great integrity and dedication to public and community service and he understands the difficulty he is facing at the moment.

Dr Williams himself said he "took responsibility" for any "unclarity" and "misleading" choice of words that caused distress or misunderstanding.

Speaking at a meeting of the General Synod, the Church of England's parliament, Dr Williams said he "thought it was right to say a few words" in response to the outrage surrounding his remarks last week.

Following calls for Dr Rowan Williams to resign, a number of bishops rallied to his support

He went on to put the interview, in which he said the adoption of some aspects of Islamic sharia law "seems unavoidable", in the context of a discussion about the relation between faith and law, and pointed out that he was talking as part of a series of lectures about Islam and British law.

He expressed his gratitude to members of the Synod who had given him their support over the weekend.

"I believe quite strongly that it is not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to discuss the perceived concerns of other religious communities and try to bring them into better public focus," he said.

Dr Williams also criticised the reporting of his comments, saying the media used "heavily coloured terms".

"Some of what has been heard was a long way from what was said," he said.

(BMcC)