Speaking to The Times, Dawkins said he fears the removal of religion would be a bad idea for society because it would give people “license to do really bad things.”

He likened the importance of a higher power informing our morality to the presence of surveillance cameras to prevent shoplifting, warning people would feel free to commit crimes if the need to obey the “divine spy camera in the sky, reading their every thought” was removed.

“People may feel free to do bad things because they feel God is no longer watching them,” he said.

The Oxford University fellow recalled an experiment that had been set up in a University coffee shop by his former pupil, Melissa Bateson, at the University of Newcastle which allowed students to pay for their hot drinks via an “honesty box”.

The price list was displayed on the wall and was decorated with either floral imagery or a pair of staring eyes depending on the week.

Melissa published her findings in a paper, saying: “people paid nearly three times as much for their drinks when eyes were displayed.”

Dawkins concluded that “whether irrational or not, it does, unfortunately, seem plausible that, if somebody sincerely believes God is watching his every move, he might be more likely to be good.”

“I must say I hate that idea,” he added, “I want to believe that humans are better than that. I’d like to believe I’m honest whether anyone…

Miranda Harris, a co-founder, died alongside the International CEO Chris Naylor and his wife Susanna on Monday.

Peter Harris is still alive and receiving treatment in hospital.

A Rocha’s director of conservation, Andy Lester told Premier’s News Hour the organisation and its partners are still coming to terms with the news:

“When it’s really sudden and unexpected like this, it’s a tragic loss for very, very many people around the world. There are people from Chile through to Peru, New Zealand and across the UK and the states who are reeling this afternoon.

“It’s still very raw and it’s very recent, so many people are grieving today and will be for some considerable time.”

He went on to pay tribute to his friends saying: “When I was 16 years old, I first visited the A Rocha field study centre in Portugal as a completely directionless teenager and it was thanks to Peter and Miranda that I am speaking to you today because they brought in a deep passion for conservation for the natural world and for tying it together with the evangelical faith that gave me a sense of direction and purpose in life as a teenager and has enabled me to continue that work through what I’m doing and I know I’m not alone.

“I know there are many people out there who both found a passion for the planet but also a Christian faith through the two of them as leaders.

Lester praised them for their service to A Rocha and their environmental…

The chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons provides pastoral care for MPs and staff at Westminster and the role includes being Priest in Charge of St Mary at Hill in the City of London.

The Speaker’s chaplain’s responsibilities also include leading daily prayers in the Chamber, conducting a weekly service in the chapel and presiding over weddings and baptisms of members.

Rev Hillas currently works at St Paul’s Cathedral as Canon and Pastor, responsible for the Cathedral’s pastoral work, overseeing the welfare of all staff St Paul’s and visitors.

She will be the 80th chaplain to the speaker and the second woman after Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin who was selected to become the next Bishop of Dover; Hudson-Wilkin will be installed on 30th November.

Before joining St Paul’s Cathedral, Tricia was vicar of St Barnabas in Northolt.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, she trained as a senior social worker, before her ordination in 2002.

The Dean of St Paul’s, David Ison, said she is: “a warm, intelligent, perceptive and creative colleague.

“She has challenged and stretched St Paul’s to be more inclusive of others, and I’m sure she will do a great job as Chaplain in Parliament in the midst of the great variety of people and issues she will encounter there. We will miss her and her contributions very much indeed; we wish her well, and will be praying for her in her new ministry.”

The Bishop…

The report by the Grenfell Tower inquiry states that the fire was started by an electrical fault in a fridge-freezer, through no fault of the owner.

The material in the building aided the fire to spread and for smoke on the outside of the building to re-enter the building and block the stairways, which were the only way to get out.

Rev Mike Long, the minister of Notting Hill Methodist Church, three minutes away from the tower, told Premier Christian Radio the recommendations are important to those who’ve lost family members: “I think they’re vital. If ever there’s going to be in a sense of healing and peace, there needs to be some kind of common understanding of truth and justice as well.

“For many people who are so closely connected, sadly, to this disaster, it’s impossible to forget and there’s this kind of aching, burning sense of frustration or longing to know what could have happened – the knowledge that, for instance, so many lives could have been saved, had key decisions been made differently on the night is very, very hard to bear for those who’ve lost loved ones.”

Speaking about how it has affected the community two years on he explained: “I think it shapes all our ministries in the local community because the community continues to be so affected by it. That’s not always of course on the surface but we know this is going to be a very long process.

“Also…

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) said that if the decline in the number of serving priests is not halted, members of the faith face being denied church weddings and christenings.

ACP is also advocating for priests being allowed to marry. Pope Francis has shown an openness to the marriage of deacons, in light of the recommendations from last week’s Amazon synod where a more open minded approach to the ordination of married deacons in the Amazon region is being considered.

Many priests who have left the ministry to get married could bring a “huge richness and wisdom” to the Church if they were allowed to return as leaders, he said.

Fr Roy Dononvan is concerned by the “failure” to address the issue of inequality for women within the Church.

He said: “Women can’t become deacons at the moment which means there’s no opportunity to become leaders. The synod has left women as second class citizens. The Church is not treating women as human beings and it’s a massive injustice at the heart of the Church.”

Spokesperson for the ACP, Fr Tim Hazelwood said the Catholic Church “faced a catastrophic situation” and priests were an “endangered species”.

He warned that unless new measures are brought in “we’re facing a really bleak future”.

The ordination of women and married priests will be discussed on 30th October at the Irish Association of Catholic Priests annual…