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Rowan Williams labelled a ‘subversive’ by MI5
Outspoken archbishop has a history of activism and strong left-wing views
The Archbishop of Canterbury rocked the boat earlier this month when he published an article in the New Statesman condemning the Coalition's "radical policies for which no one voted". Now it has emerged that in his younger years, Rowan Williams was listed as a "subversive" by MI5.
Senior MI5 officer Charles Elwell, who died in 2008, identified Williams as a dangerous element back in 1989 in a secret newsletter circulated to senior British politicians, including Margaret Thatcher, then Prime Minister, says the Sunday Telegraph.
Known as 'MI5's Witchfinder-General', Elwell warned of the "problem of Christian left wing groups" and cited the Jubilee Group, of which Williams was a member, as "the best known and probably most influential".
Shortly after the briefing, Thatcher said publicly that the Jubilee Group was "the most subversive group within the religious community in England".
Williams helped write a manifesto for the Jubliee Group back in 1974 when he was a student at Cambridge. During the 1980s, the group helped arrange demonstrations against the Poll Tax, in support of the strikers when Rupert Murdoch moved production to Wapping and against the US nuclear base at Greenham Common.
The MI5 listing does not refer specifically to Williams himself – and his membership of the group is old news - so the Telegraph's interest in it will be seen by some as another attempt to discredit him. Writing for The First Post, the Rev Stephen Thorp said William's critics sought to "dismiss the man rather than engage with the argument". ·
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Comments
What are the career prospects for a witch-finder who can't witches?
Peter Gardiner,
That is an absurd comment about the Belgrano. We were at war and had a warship that had set sail for an operational area carrying out standard manoeuvres of the type normal where a captain expects defending submarines to be present. The RoE required permission from London before firing, but in the reality of war (started by the Argentines you may remember) the submarine captain was justified in firing without London's clearance. The Belgrano's heading at the time the torpedoes hit is irrelevant to this issue. If the captain was really steaming for home and did not wish to be attacked, he could have struck his colours. He didn't, did he?
Have you ever been in action, Mr Gardiner?
The Archbishop is in good company. Jesus Christ wasn't exactly made comfortable by the Roman Empire! Some would argue that to subvert the abuse of power is a distinctly Christian act.
It seems that MI5 got it right, in spades, and with strategic foresight, and so long ago. The Archbishop of Canterbury knows nothing about economics and talks rubbish on the subject, and is a political nuisance of the worst type.
Is it OK to have 'strong left-wing views' now that MI5 are, one assumes, otherwise occupied?
Perhaps they can publish their criteria for deciding who's a subversive. That way, those of us who don't vote Conservative might know where we stand.
i fully agree with that one, thatcher was a delluded woman on a power trip the result of which can still be seen today in the many broken and impoverished communities scattered around the Uk's former industrial areas.
Interesting that a man with enough moral courage to become an archbishop should be considered a security threat. I thought Thatcher a war criminal who should have been tried for sinking the Belgrano at least. Time to throw the MI5 out as a waste of money.