A BISHOP told the House of Lords last night he has been warned by a senior Tory peer to "steer clear of political issues for the next month".
The charge was made at question time by the Bishop of Norwich, the Right Rev Peter Noll. He said, during a housing debate: "On Monday afternoon a senior peer on the government benches said to me: `Steer clear of political issues for the next month my boy It's going to be a rough time'."
The bishop, who did not name the peer, commented: "At 63 it was rather gratifying to be addressed as `my boy'."
He told the Lords: "I have no intention whatever of becoming involved in the rough and tumble of party political issues which, for me and the vast majority of my brethren, are a spectator sport."
But the bishop defended the right of the Church of England to speak out on moral issues.
Hue said "Homelessness and poor housing, from whatever cause it originates, negatively affects people's moral and spiritual well being and development. A determination to give this question priority is fundamental to good government."
The bishop suggested that, despite initial ministerial criticism, the church's reports, Faith in the City and Faith in the Countryside, had inspired government initiatives.
"The government is often dismayed when church leaders speak critically on some of these matters and there is frequent misunderstanding, often wilful misunderstanding, in the media about the reasons for our pronouncements.
"But these criticisms arise from our proper concerns, concerns about which we speak with some knowledge and expertise. They do not arise from a partisan political spirit."