Bishops are being urged to get rid of their mitres by a senior Church of England cleric who called them an 'unhelpful and unnecessary' symbol of power.

Rev Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishop's Council, published an online article named "Why bishops should throw away their mitres".

He claimed the hats are unflattering and look daft on most people. He also said the "wearing of mitres by bishops is a practice less than one hundred years old, and until recently it was far from universal".

He continued: "The second reason is rather important, and oddly is something that many people are not aware of (including, it seems, not a few bishops): wearing mitres is not particularly Anglican.

"The practice more or less ceased at the Reformation, and only crept back into use through the influence of the Oxford Movement."

I had no idea that the Mitre is not a traditional CofE mode of dress. This is a great article. Let's see the demise of pointy hats in church https://t.co/fh4GnVBUlf

— Steve Plumb (@citymuso) July 5, 2017

The theology professor also said bishops should carefully consider the visual signals mitres create, which he believes don't mesh with the today's culture.

He added: "To most, and I would suggest especially the young, the sight of bishops in mitres puts them in another world. It is world of the past, a world of nostalgia, a world of deference—and mostly a world which is quite disconnected from present experience and values.

"It confirms for many the impression of a church irrelevant to modern questions, contained in its own bubble of self-reference.

"And in its hierarchical understanding of authority, it is a culture of which contemporary society is becoming less and less tolerant, possibly for good reason."

He plans to call for reform on the use of mitres during a debate on vestments at a General Synod meeting in York on Monday.