Most Rev Justin Welby is among Church of England leaders who hope a public consultation will prompt the Government introduce a £2 cap.

Posting on Twitter, he said: “Fixed Odds Betting Terminals cause great harm to vulnerable people, their families and communities.

“It’s time to fix the legal loophole.”

The Gambling Minister Tracey Crouch announced a twelve-week consultation at the end of November on proposed changes to the industry, including new controls to stop gambling firms using advertising to target children.

In February, members of the Church’s governing General Synod body unanimously approved cutting the maximum stake on FOBTs, and new powers for councils to control the number of machines on high streets.

Bishop of St Albans Dr Alan Smith, who supports the proposed measures said at the time of the consultation’s launch: “The presence of FOBTs on high streets and damage they do to individuals, families and communities should concern us all.

“I hope everyone takes the time to make their voices heard in this consultation.

“Large corporate interests will do everything they can to influence the Government’s decision on the maximum stake for FOBTs, so is essential that ordinary people share their local experience of these machines.”

Last week, the grime artist posted a music video on Twitter, to which one user replied, asking if he would consider going to his father’s funeral.

Nas Bockarie tweeted to the star: “Bro my Dad passed away on the day of my graduation last week Friday. Our favourite song of yours was blinded by your grace.

“Would love it if you could perform this at his funeral next Thursday 21st December. Don’t worry if you can’t, I just thought I’d try my luck. #Hopeful.”

Follow me so I can dm ya

— #GSAP (@Stormzy1) December 16, 2017

Stormzy replied asking to message the fan, and later appeared to sing at the funeral.

A friend of Mr Bockarie’s posted a screenshot of the initial request, alongside a picture of Stormzy singing on a stage.

He wrote: “Massive respect for @Stormzy1 for honouring this…God Bless You.”

A GoFundMe page set up by Mr Bockarie said his father died on December 8, and that the funeral would be held in Reading.

Stormzy’s representatives have been contacted for comment.

Describing love as “the world’s most powerful weapon”, Archbishop John Davies also urged believers to show compassion for people around the world whose lives are marked by homeless, war and poverty.

He encouraged congregations to follow Jesus’ example of “demonstrating a genuine, welcoming and loving concern” for others.

Archbishop John Davies wrote: “Regardless of who we are, he has something to say about the way in which we live our lives and how we are called to show loving concern, not just for ourselves but for the millions of needy people, people at home and abroad, people in our own communities and the far-away communities of other nations in the world; people whose life-stories of need and despair daily appear in our news: among them are homeless people, refugees, victims of armed conflict and poverty, persecution and prejudice, depravation of food and opportunity…”

The Church in Wales leader also referenced the biblical accounts of shepherds and the Magi being led to visit the baby Jesus as proof God wants to speak to “ordinary people” and “people of influence”

He added: “His [Jesus] very clear message for those who have responsibility for leading and governing the world’s societies is that power is to be exercised within the framework of that concern as, even in our own society, divisions between the haves and the have-nots appear to grow ever wider, and as the voices suggesting that we should be…

Rev Toby Crow claimed he received a giant glossy poster promoting the delivery chain’s ‘Saviour deal’, which offers customers up to half price on their order.

Writing to the Christian Times, he asked: “Am I alone in finding this offensive, even blasphemous?”

“Or could it be, rather, a sign of how marginalised the Christian faith has become, when nobody in the marketing department of a national in fact international retail chain either recognises its offensiveness or cares?”

The 45 year old leader of Elmdon Church in Solihull suspected the poster could be a ploy to generate publicity from any backlash the campaign creates.

He added: “Of course, the worst case scenario is one in which they know exactly what they’re doing, and are hoping for the additional publicity that [a] boycott would give them.

“But nobody would stoop that low, right?”

Domino’s told the Sun it was looking into Rev Crow’s claim.

Andrew Soper, 74, is likely to die in prison after being found guilty of a string of sex attacks on boys in the 1970s and 80s.

He fled to Kosovo with £182,000 from the Vatican bank in a bid to avoid responsibility for the abuse at fee-paying St Benedict’s School in Ealing, west London.

But the former Ealing abbot and headmaster, known as Father Laurence, was extradited to face 19 charges of indecent assault and buggery against 10 former pupils.

On being found guilty at the Old Bailey, the school apologised unreservedly for the “serious wrongs of the past”.

Soper’s victims were supported by relatives in court when he appeared to be sentenced.

The court heard Soper still maintained his innocence and described his conviction as a “miscarriage of justice”.

The court heard he has already been attacked while on remand at Wormwood Scrubs and is now being held in segregation for his own protection.

Sentencing, Judge Anthony Bate said his conduct was “the most appalling breach of trust” and he had “subverted the rules of the Benedictine order and teachings of the Catholic Church”.

He told Soper: “You have been a clandestine sex offender since your early 30s.”

He said his life would now be “overshadowed by the proven catalogue of vile abuse”.

He added: “Your disgrace is complete.”

The school counts former Conservative chairman Lord Patten and entertainer Julian Clary among its old boys and currently charges fees of around £5,000 a term.

It had come under scrutiny in the…

Premier can exclusively reveal that the country’s largest foodbank operator expects to see a 13 per-cent rise in demand for emergency provisions on Christmas Day, compared with last year.

Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, Mark Ward said: “We’ve been trying to help to combat this problem for a very long time now and, for various different reasons, the number of people that need help continues to rise.”

In excess of 23,500 people collected a three-day food parcel from the Christian charity between 22nd and 24th December last year.

Earlier this year, bosses named the roll out of Universal Credit as a key factor fuelling the growing demand for foodbank use – a claim the Government challenged, saying it was unfair to attribute the trend to a single issue.

Redundancy, the loss of a loved one, welfare problems and an unexpected bill are all commonly-cited reasons for why people turn to foodbanks.

Founder of the Hammersmith and Fulham Foodbank, Daphine Aikens told Premier some clients would be left in desperate situations when they arrive.

She said: “Some people do say that they would commit a crime [if they could not access a foodbank].

“Others report that they will try to stay warm and sleep through the hunger pains, they will borrow, they will just go without.”

Demand for…