The comments were made by the Bishop of Newcastle, Christine Hardman, and the Bishop of Carlisle, James Newcome, in response to an open letter from clergy and lay members of the Church of England in The Times this week.

The letter sought assurances from Church of England bishops that they would challenge proposals set out in both the Labour and Lib Dem party manifestos to decriminalise abortion.

In their joint response, the bishops said that they would not comment on the specifics of party manifestos during election season, but said that bishops in the House of Lords were "fully committed" to engaging with the issue. ...