Armfield, who was a former Blackpool footballer, England’s captain, a manager and broadcaster died after a battle with cancer.

He has been remembered as an active member St Peter’s Church in Blackpool where he was an organist, choirmaster and treasurer. In 2001, Armfield also became a lay Canon of Blackburn Cathedral.

Rt Rev Julian Henderson, Bishop of Blackburn, said: “He has been a great supporter of The Church of England in Lancashire and especially his local church where he played the organ for many years.

“Jimmy had an astonishing career and he was very committed as a Christian. So, at this difficult time we join with, and pray for, Jimmy’s family and the congregation of Blackpool St Peter in mourning his death.”

Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, the retired Bishop of Blackburn, knew Armfield well and remembered him as a welcoming person.

He said: “I am so sad today – Jimmy Armfield was one of the first people to welcome me to the Diocese when I arrived in 2004 and I will always remember his warm smile and warm handshake; his hospitality and generosity.

“His Christian faith was very important to him and helped him through the difficult times as well as the good times.”

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The recommendation follows claims made by a top officer at Scotland Yard that the courts and prisons aren’t doing enough to tackle knife-related crime.

There were 80 fatal stabbings in London last year – the highest number for almost a decade.

Les Isaac, CEO of Ascension Trust and co-founder of Street Pastors – which works to make communities safer – told Premier the Church should prioritise knife crime.

Speaking during the News Hour, he said: “The Church has a very unique place in terms of helping communities.

“I often say to Christian leaders, ‘listen, you’re in every community, whether you meet in a pub or at home or a building or a school – the Church is there’.

“I think what’s important for the Church – particularly the leaders – is to make this issue a priority.”

The increased number of fatal stabbings in the capital has led to an increase in officers’ use of controversial stop and search powers.

Assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police Martin Hewitt said: “My position would be that stop and search is an absolutely crucial tactic in dealing with particularly something like knife crime.

“We convince politicians by effectively using stop and search and getting the results that we need from stop and search and managing some of those community tensions.”

Senior police officers in London believe they can learn from tactics used in Scotland, when it comes to tackling knife crime.

Chris Conlee from Highpoint Church spoke to congregants following Andy Savage’s apology for his involvement in inappropriate behaviour with Jules Woodson, after she detailed the incident in a blog post.

Savage didn’t reveal details of the “sexual incident” to congregants, who gave him a standing ovation that was widely reported and criticised.

In the first service since Savage announced he was taking a leave of absence from the church, Conlee addressed the incident.

He said: “It’s ok for me to point out some things that are wrong.

“What happened 20 years ago was wrong. What is happening with bloggers and social media critics being so hateful is also wrong.”

He suggested bible reading is sometime ‘selective’ and quoted Matthew 7:2, which highlights the impact of judging others.

Conlee asked: “If you were watching a movie right now of this story, and in this particular movie we happen to be the main characters, what would you want us to do?

“Do you want us to compromise and cave in to the critics? Do you want us to quit?

“See, that’s what the enemy wants.”

Conlee then cited the Bible verse 1 Peter 5:8 to compare Savage’s critics to Satan.

“‘Be sober-minded. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around – watch this – like a roaring lion,'” Conlee said.

“He is not a roaring lion. He is like a roaring lion. There is only one roaring lion, and that is the lion of the tribe of Judah.”

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It is the first time the bishop from Ishim has spoken out against the regime, describing some of the President’s comments as ‘utterly blasphemous’.

He was referring to Putin’s comments where he compared Lenin’s tomb to holy relics and thus seemed to equate communism with Christianity.

Bishop Kurochkin wrote his comments on his page on the Russian social media website Vk.

He said: “An obstacle arose in my desire to vote for Putin. The obstacle was that Vladimir Vladimirovich made a rather malicious remark about Pyotr Arcadievich Stolypin.”

Stolypin was a monarchist from the early 1900s.

Kurochkin also reported that Putin said in a TV documentary: “Look, Lenin was put in the mausoleum. How is this different from the relics of saints for Orthodox believers or for Christians?”

Putin said in the programme that was aired at the weekend: “Communist ideology is very similar to Christianity, in fact, freedom, equality, brotherhood and justice – all of that is laid out in Scripture.”