Gordon Brown has met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, to discuss how the churches can tackle poverty.

Most Rev Sarah Mullally met the former Prime Minister at Lambeth Palace on Thursday alongside the Bishop of Leicester Martyn Snow, the Church’s lead bishop for child poverty issues. 

In a social media post, Archbishop Sarah said: “Churches across this country and around the Anglican Communion work tirelessly to support their parishes and communities. 

“It was good to welcome the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, to Lambeth Palace today, where we talked about the role that churches play in addressing poverty and expanding opportunities for children and families here and around the world.”

Their meeting comes as a new report found that churches deliver a quarter of a million essential services every week in England. The Gather Movement’s Heart of the Neighbourhood study highlighted the role of church initiatives like food banks, debt advice and youth clubs as an often overlooked pillar of the nation’s social infrastructure. 

The former Labour Prime Minister is a Christian, who was raised in the Church of Scotland by his father who was a church minister. He has spoken of following a “social Christianity”, with a duty to help others and share the gospel.