Archbishop says PM like drug addict

THE Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday launched an astonishing attack on Gordon Brown's economic bailout, comparing the Prime Minister to an "addict returning to a drug".

Dr Rowan Williams criticised the idea that the UK should spend its way out of recession, warning that it would lead to a repetition of mistakes.

The recession would act as a "reality check" for millions of consumer "addicts", he said. "When the Bible uses the word repentance, it doesn't just mean beating your breast. It means getting a new perspective and that is perhaps what we are shrinking away from."

Mr Brown replied with a Biblical riposte of his own: "We should not walk by on the other side when people face problems."