He was "exasperated" by the slogans of the Occupy protesters, he disagrees that atheists should be invited to present Thought for the Day, and he believes that, no, the Church of England is not in a worse position than when he began as Archbishop ten years ago.

Asked on Monday night whether he regretted being outspoken during his Canterbury tenure, Dr Rowan Williams expanded on his answer (in short, no) by providing frank replies to questions that probed some of the thorniest issues he has grappled with.

Dr Williams was speaking at Methodist Central Hall, where he gave the fifth annual lecture of the Christian thinktank Theos. 

Madeleine Davies | Read this article in full at www.churchtimes.co.uk