Daniel Jones, head of business development at Stewardship – a Christian charity that promotes generous giving, shared his views with Premier following a recent study that suggests trust in charities has hit an all-time low.

While nine in ten of us have donated to a charity at some stage in our lives, a quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned by the UK ethical mobile company The People’s Operator, have stopped giving to charities altogether.

Speaking on the importance of Christians giving to charity, Jones explained: “It’s an integral part of our faith.

“We give because of grace. We give because we’re more blessed to give than to receive. We give because we want to support the work of the local Church and we want to see Jesus’ name spread throughout the world.”

He added that while Oxfam had initially reported a dip in donations following revelations about the behaviour of certain staff in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and in Chad, that hadn’t stopped others continuing to support other charities.

This point was also reflected in the study that found over a quarter of Brits each raising an average of £446.80 in the past year by taking part in charity runs or organising fundraising events.

The results also show that half the nation feels they should be giving more to charity than they already are.

Listen to Daniel Jones from Stewardship speaking with…

The service on Sunday will be open to people of all faiths and none and will take place at St Thomas Church in the city centre just metres from where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found.

Church leaders said they want to symbolically reclaim the city for the common good.

Rev Kelvin Inglis, Rector of St Thomas’ Church, said: “The service will bring together city leaders and representatives, members of the business community and local people, together with leaders and members of the emergency and public services.

“We shall gather in thanksgiving for the work of the services involved, in prayer for those affected, and in looking forward to the future of our fine city.

“At the conclusion of the service, we shall go in procession to near the site where the Skripals were found for a ceremony symbolically to ‘reclaim’ our city for the common good.

“Our service will include hymns and prayers from both Russia and this country, as well as from the Christian Bible that been the grounding of both of our cultures. While we feel rightly outraged at this act, I have seen no sense that in the city wishes anything but friendship with the Russian people and better relations between our governments.”

The Skripals were found unconscious on a bench on 4th March.

It’s claimed they came in contact with military-grade nerve agent Novichok.

The UK has accused Russia of being behind the…

In a new 100-page document advising faithful on how to pursue holiness in the modern world, Francis said “defamation and slander can become commonplace and respect for the good name of others can be abandoned… even in Catholic media”.

The pontiff wrote: “The result is a dangerous dichotomy, since things can be said there that would be unacceptable in public discourse, and people look to compensate for their own discontent by lashing out at others.

“It is striking that at times, in claiming to uphold the other commandments, they completely ignore the eighth, which forbids bearing false witness or lying, and ruthlessly vilify others.”

In his third Apostolic Exhortation, called Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis also suggested that believers ought to care for the welfare of migrants as much as they are concerned about preventing abortion.

He went on to say: “We often hear it said that, with respect to relativism and the flaws of our present world, the situation of migrants, for example, is a lesser issue.

“Some Catholics consider it a secondary issue compared to the grave bioethical questions.

“That a politician looking for votes might say such a thing is understandable, but not a Christian, for whom the only proper attitude is to stand in the shoes of those brothers and sisters of ours who risk their lives to offer a…

Aihtsham Rashid, 39, a businessman from Leeds, led a fundraising drive for the mosque, which in a day alone surpassed its £50,000 target by raising more than £63,000 through donations from across the world.

The Presbyterian Free Church – the local arm of the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing), had called on its followers to pray about the “most unwelcome development”.

In a press release, the church stated: “Our main concern is with the religion of Islam itself. If a mosque ever opens, Islam will be able to promote itself in our midst through public worship, despite its beliefs and practices being alien to the religious convictions of the vast majority of our community.

“Islam is wholly inconsistent with the teaching of the Word of God in Holy Scripture, which is the only rule to direct us. It is opposed to the Christian religion as confessed by the Church historically since apostolic times, and as established by law in our land since the Reformation.”

The church also raised concerns that “jihadists have entered European countries under the guise of being refugees and migrants, when their real intention has been to wage war on the West on behalf of their religion” as another reason for opposing the mosque being built.

However, it clarified that it had “nothing against individual Muslims, least of all any who have been forced to flee their homelands because of…

Ealing Council has been exploring a range of options on how to prevent “intimidation, harassment and distress” for women using the Marie Stopes clinic on Mattock Lane following a petition set up by local women.

Among the high-profile backers is the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who said “behaviour that seeks to deliberately target women for harassment and intimidation should not be tolerated”.

A log book of entries by patients and staff catalogues some of the encounters which John Hansen Brevetti, clinical operations manager, said had been happening over three decades.

One entry read: “Police called due to aggressive protester a very upset client. Police attended had conversation with protester.”

One patient was asked “Are you sure you want to kill your baby?” as she was trying to enter the centre, while another was shown plastic 10-week-old foetuses.

Another woman wrote: “I felt very traumatised seeing photos of babies’ embryos outside of this clinic. The lady outside will not remove the photos and would not listen to my complaint.

“If there is any way you can remove these people/group from standing outside please make it happen. This is unacceptable and wrong.”

Councillors will look at the results of the consultation and decide whether to implement a public spaces protection order (PSPO) on Tuesday evening.

If they do…