South West Bedfordshire MP Andrew Selous made the remarks when answering questions in the House of Commons during Church Estates Commissioner.

Labour MP Rachel Maskell, who is also a Christian, asked him about the government's criticism of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby after he deemed the plans to process asylum seekers in Rwanda "ungodly."  

Maskell asked: "The Archbishops of both Canterbury and York have, rightly, been outspoken about the plight of refugees. 

"Does the Honourable Gentleman agree that church leaders have an important role to play in contributing a prophetic voice, a voice of conscience, as part of the process of providing the nation with checks and balances, advocacy and accountability, in respect of refugees and other vulnerable groups?"

Selous replied: "The Archbishop of Canterbury published what I thought was a very balanced article about these issues in The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"The Honourable Lady has made a valid point: while the Church will cause discomfort to all Governments and, if I remember rightly, did so to her party just before the last general election, I would far rather live in a country where that is the case than in Russia, where the Church is unstintingly supporting an illegal and barbaric invasion."

In his article, Archbishop Welby defended his intervention on the issue saying the Church of England is not a "passive observer" and added that the government should focus on destroying "the deadly trade of people trafficking". 

"We agree on those common ends, which are urgent and compassionate, but we profoundly differ on the means to achieve them," Archbishop Welby continued.