Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has added his name to a list of high profile signatures calling for the Prime Minister to bring about a "green and just economic recovery from Covid-19."

115 parents including economists, business leaders, union leaders, faith leaders, scientists, actors, teachers, doctors, and musicians are calling for a low carbon recovery to address two key concerns - the impact of the pandemic on their children's job prospects and the impact of the climate crisis on their future. 

"We understand the urgent need to get our ailing economy back on its feet," the letter says. "We also know that we can’t build our way out of one disaster by supercharging the next. If climate emissions are allowed to rebound to pre-pandemic levels the consequences for our children’s lives and livelihoods will be catastrophic - and it is children from the poorest and most disadvantaged communities here in the UK, and across the globe, who will be hardest hit. Put simply, we cannot afford to slide back into fossil fuelled business as usual."

Organised by Mothers Rise Up and Parents For Future UK, the letter will be delivered to Downing Street on Sunday afternoon after a protest in Westminster's Parliament Square.