Rt Rev Roger Morris said the fact a growing number of people are reliant on emergency three-day food parcels illustrates “failures” on the part of the Government.

In a strongly-worded speech delivered at a local foodbank on Wednesday, the Bishop of Colchester said: “The food bank, brilliant though it is, is a sign that on the whole we have failed.

“We have failed to care for those most in need. We have failed to protect the most vulnerable in society.

“We have failed in our promises to look after all people from the cradle to the grave.

“And our failures as government, as society, as a so-called welfare state are then mopped up by the third sector.”

The Department for Work and Pensions told Premier is it “wrong” to link a rise in foodbank use to any one cause, claiming the reasons people use foodbanks are “complex”.

A spokesperson added: “Since 2010, one million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty and we also know that the best way to help people improve their lives is through employment.

“Since 2010, over 3.3 million more people have moved into work – equating to an extra 1,000 people employed a day on average, every day.

“For those individuals who need extra support, there are a variety of protections in place, such as 100 per cent advances available from day…

Glasgow-based Destiny Church invited controversial US evangelist Rick Godwin – who calls for guns to be carried in churches and Australian evangelist John Mellor who is a self-proclaimed “miracle healer” to their £50-a-head weekend conference called Surge 18 which was held in a number of churches across Edinburgh.

In a statement to the Times, a Church of Scotland spokeswoman said that it hired St Cuthbert’s to Destiny in good faith, adding: “Since the event we have heard reports which have concerned us. Therefore we will not allow this group to use our buildings again.”

The Scottish Episcopal Church has also condemned the group for “abusing its hospitality” by holding a rally at St John’s.

It’s reported Texas-based Godwin told those gathered for the conference that members of his congregation would happily shoot intruders “in Jesus’s name”.

However, a spokesman for Destiny Church said: “Rick Godwin did not say the things claimed.”

Welsh evangelist Andrew Owen founded Destiny Church in Glasgow in 1990. The church now meets in various locations across Scotland.

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A new report by gay rights charity Stonewall has looked into the bullying that LGBT people face from those within and outside of their community.

It also found almost a third of gay people of faith take part in a faith activity at least once a month.

Tracey Byrne, CEO of One Body One Faith, a group supporting gay Christians told Premier she’s not surprised by the reported hostility.

She said: “It’s a complex one but I think it reflects members of the LGBT community projecting onto people of faith their own concerns and anger at the established church.

“I think a lot of people in the LGBT community don’t understand why we hang in there after watching the way we’re treated.”

Stonewall has launched its ‘Come out for LGBT’ campaign after finding many LGBT people are hiding their sexuality from their faith community.

A third of lesbian, gay and bi people of faith (32 per cent) aren’t open with anyone in their faith community about their sexual orientation while one in four trans people of faith (25 per cent) aren’t open about their gender identity.

Ruth Hunt, Chief Executive, Stonewall UK, said: “To truly work with and for all LGBT communities, we have to be an active part of the solution to many of the issues outlined in this report.

“Our ‘Come Out For LGBT’ campaign is all about being visible and doing something to stand up for others.

“This research shows just how much…

Brian Chapman was among two people who died at the scene of an early morning collision between a lorry and a double-decker bus near Guyhirn.

The 76-year-old from Cherry Road in Kettering, Northamptonshire had spent a number of decades serving at the town’s St Peter and St Paul’s Church.

Rector, Rev David Walsh wrote on Facebook: “Sad and shocking news for our church community here in Kettering.

“It’s hard to imagine St Peter & St Paul’s Church without him.

“Dear Brian. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”

Mr Chapman was a passenger on-board the bus, the driver of which also died. Michael Elcombe was 45-years-old and came from Swaffham in Norfolk.

According to police, the bus crashed into the lorry as it was turning into the A47 from yard. The driver of the lorry was not hurt.

An investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing, Cambridgeshire Police has said. No arrests have been made.

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Linehan tweeted that he “got a bit of bad news recently”, adding that he had a “little touch of the old cancer”.

“Luckily, ball cancer is one of the best ones to have (sorry, ladies!) and they got rid of it all pretty quickly, along with a ball. Bye, ball! I’ll never forget the good times!” he added.

Linehan, 50, said he will soon be undergoing a course of chemotherapy to stop the cancer from returning.

He joked to his 697,000 followers: “Not looking forward to that, obviously, but it’s better than dying.”

Linehan also assured fans that the musical version of Father Ted, Pope Ted, is “coming along nicely”.

The Irish TV writer, who is also known for creating sitcoms including The IT Crowd and Black Books, added that he is not sure if he will have to stop working on it, but that the “book is so close to being done that I can walk away from it for a while and we’re still in good shape”.

Linehan apologised to Australian fans who had bought tickets to an event he was due to host later this year, and said he hopes to return in 2019.

“So that’s the story,” he said.

“I’m hoping I’ll just continue to be the happy-go-lucky, beloved twitter personality you all know, but if there are moments of quiet from me, don’t worry, I’m just dealing with it.”

Linehan co-created popular 1990s sitcom Father Ted with Arthur Mathews, and it will now be revived in musical form, with the music…

Dressed in a beige linen suit, shirt, tie and sunglasses, William spent 20 minutes standing on a viewing point looking out over the sun-bathed city, marvelling at the sight below.

Famous landmarks including the Western Wall, Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre were pointed out by a guide from the British Embassy.

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge east of Jerusalem’s Old City with stunning views of many of its ancient landmarks.

Named after the olive groves that once lined its slopes, it has great significance for Jews and Christians as many biblical events took place in the area.

In the Old Testament, King David fled over the Mount of Olives to escape when his son Absalom rebelled.

In the New Testament, Jesus often walked over the Mount of Olives from the Temple to Bethany or went there to pray and rest. Luke 22 details how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives before he was lbetrayed by Judas and later crucified.

He also went down over the Mount on his triumphal entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Reporting by Associated Press. Additional reporting by Premier’s news team.

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Tawanda Chandiwana (pictured centre) has been kept at a detention centre on the outskirts of the country’s capital city, Manila, after being accused of links to a “subversive group”. He denies any wrongdoing.

The Zimbabwean national is among three Methodist missionaries – the others are Adam Shaw (pictured right) from Brunswick in Ohio and Miracle Osman (left) from Malawi – who are all currently being denied permission to leave the country.

In a statement the United Methodist Church (UMC) said: “[We] are launching a worldwide campaign to call public attention to the plight of Tawanda and two other missionaries who were in the country fulfilling their commission to show God’s love in the world.”

Chandiwana and Osman were in the Philippians to complete a 20-month missionary programme which included involvement in peacebuilding, environmental conservation, teaching English, human rights and social work.

Shaw is a former participant on the programme and is now in full-time mission work.

All three individuals were briefly detained and questioned in February will joining a fact-finding investigation into alleged human rights violations near General Santos City in the south of the Philippines.

Chandiwana was later detained while attending a training seminar at the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute in Davao City.