Boris Johnson slurs the Archbishop of Canterbury over his comments on the UK government's Rwanda asylum policy is a disgraceful slur, a senior Church of England official said.
The prime minister accused Justin Welby of misinterpreting the policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sources close to Johnson said he accused senior clergymen of being less vociferous in his condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin than in his attack on asylum policy.
Johnson was criticised in a private address to Conservative MPs in Parliament after he was forced to apologise for the fixed-penalty notice he received for breaching coronaviruses laws.
The Church of England head of news John Bingham said if Johnson s behind-closed doors comment was true it was a disgraceful slur. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell publicly condemned Putin's invasion of Ukraine as an act of great evil.
Welby did not mention Putin by name, but he did call for a Russian ceasefire, withdrawal and a commitment to talks. He also repeatedly criticised the invasion and discussed the plight of the Ukrainian people living through and fleeing the war.