The Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, the Church of England’s Lead Bishop for Foreign Affairs, has welcomed the appointment of Rehman Chishti MP as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, succeeding Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon.

Bishop Nick said: "Along with my counterpart from the Catholic Church, Bishop Declan Lang, we offer our prayers and best wishes for Rehman Chishti MP upon his appointment as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

“Everyone has an inherent right to profess any faith or none, yet across the world people continue to be imprisoned or killed for what they believe.

“Given the fundamental importance of this issue, we have long called for the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to be made a dedicated role and we are pleased that this step has been now been taken.

“We look forward to meeting Mr Chishti soon and express our sincere thanks to Lord Ahmad with whom our churches have worked closely in recent years."