Bishops slam Labour's era of 'greed'

A group of bishops branded the Labour government's record "morally corrupt" last night.

Five senior figures from the Church of England claimed the country was suffering the effects of weaker family units, spiralling debt and a widening divide between rich and poor.

The bishops of Durham, Winchester, Manchester, Carlisle and Hulme all hit out at ministers for wasting a chance to help less-well-off families during the economic downturn in separate interviews with The Sunday Telegraph.

The Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, the Bishop of Manchester, said: "The Government has acted scandalously. This is not just an economic issue, but a moral one."

He added: "The Government believes that money can answer all of the problems and has encouraged greed and a love of money that the Bible says is the root of all evil. It's morally corrupt because it encourages people to get into a lifestyle of believing they can always get what they want."