Sentamu calls for 'investment in people'

Archbishop of York John Sentamu warned slashing spending risked scarring communities for generations.

In an article for the News of the World, Dr Sentamu said that where markets fail, it was necessary for the "invisible hand of government" to step in and invest in people and public services.

Dr Sentamu said: "It worries me when many of our leading politicians talk about cuts to spending, cuts to public services or cuts to our taxes. Did we learn nothing from previous recessions?

"I am not an economist, so feel free to dismiss me as a silly old man, but surely the way out of an economic downturn is to invest in people – especially the young – as well as in public services ... If we do not value people, what do we value?"