Noel Edmonds brands Archbishop of Canterbury a ‘reincarnation of evil’ over scandal at bank the church invests in
- Deal or No Deal presenter criticised Justin Welby at a meeting in Westminster
- Noel Edmonds called Mr Welby a ‘hypocrite’ for not meeting ‘Lloyds victims’
- The Archbishop previously called zero hours contracts a ‘reincarnation of evil’
- Mr Edmonds turned the expression on Mr Welby for the Church’s stake in Lloyds
Noel Edmonds called the Archbishop of Canterbury a ‘reincarnation of evil’ and a ‘hypocrite’ over his failure to meet alleged victims of bank fraud.
Mr Edmonds, 69, criticised Justin Welby for the Church of England investing in Lloyds Banking Group – who the Deal or no Deal presenter is suing for £64million.
Last year bankers from the Reading branch of HBOS – owned by Lloyds – were jailed for their part in a £245million loans scam which destroyed businesses – with the profits being spent on prostitutes and holidays.
Mr Edmonds claims to have suffered losses and plans to sue.
Noel Edmonds (left) called the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby (right) a ‘hypocrite’
The TV star blasted the Archbishop during the SME Alliance annual meeting in Westminster, London.
Mr Edmonds said: ‘Does he have a divine right to be an a***hole? He won’t meet me or any Lloyds victims and the church is one of the biggest investors in Lloyds.’
He added that Mr Welby had criticised zero hours contracts as ‘evil’ even though some church staff were on them.
Mr Welby had come under fire last week when it was revealed that the Church of England has invested heavily in Amazon – only days after the Archbishop had accused the online giant of ‘leeching off the taxpayer’.
But the Church’s stake in the company is one of the 20 most valuable investments held by its multi-billion-pound fund, it was revealed.
Mr Welby told union leaders that ‘vast companies like Amazon’ could ‘get away with paying almost nothing in tax’.
Mr Welby was criticised last week as it was revealed that the Church of England invested heavily in Amazon – whom the Archbishop had accused of ‘leeching off the taxpayer’
As well as attacking Amazon, the Archbishop described the gig economy and zero hours contracts as the ‘reincarnation of an ancient evil’.
Noel Edmonds returned the criticism on Mr Welby.
He said: ‘Justin Welby, [you] used the expression but I think you are the reincarnation of an ancient evil,’ Sky News reported.
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