Government to end ban on Catholic and Jewish PMs' involvement in Church appointments

The government has introduced a bill to end antiquated laws preventing Roman Catholic or Jewish prime ministers from being involved in the process of making Church of England appointments.

It was among the first pieces of legislation to be introduced to Parliament under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, himself a Catholic, who has called the current laws "unacceptable".

When appointing bishops and archbishops, the Church presents a candidate to the prime minister who then advises the monarch on who to install in the role.

Although the involvement of the prime minister in this process has become more of a formality in recent years, legislation still exists that specifically bars Roman Catholics and Jews from exercising this responsibility.

That is why earlier this month Burnham, the first Catholic prime minister, transferred the responsibility of advising the King on Church appointments to the Lord Chancellor.

But the prime minster said it was "unacceptable for there to be a legislative bar against people of any faith performing all the functions of my office".

The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the Jews Relief Act 1858 are the existing laws in question.

When those laws were introduced, they actually eased some of the restrictions on Catholics' and Jews' participation in public life.