Will no one rid us of these Lefty priests?

Why was I not surprised? As the nation mourned the death of Captain Sir Tom, a beacon of hope and humility in a dark world, we were hit by a thunderbolt from a trendy, Church of England clergyman.

The Church specialises nowadays in sermons seen through the prism of the sanctimonious Left.

But the Reverend Jarel RobinsonBrown outdid himself. ‘The cult of Captain Tom is a cult of White British Nationalism,’ he declared on Twitter. ‘I will offer prayers for the repose of this kind and generous soul, but I will not be joining in the “National Clap” [for him].’

And so another large portion of the Church of England’s flock will have turned their eyes to heaven, and declared they’d had enough.

If there is one thing the CofE really does not need when it is haemorrhaging churchgoers — down by up to 20 per cent in the past decade — it is clergymen such as the Rev Robinson-Brown attacking the values they hold dear.

Where does the Church find these people? This man had made his views clear repeatedly — he’d attacked the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the home Secretary Priti Patel and other Government ministers as ‘Oppressors’. And yet he was given the coveted position of curate in the oldest church in the City of London, All hallows by the Tower.

I’m all in favour of him expressing opinions when appropriate. But his declaration on Captain Tom was so loaded with anger it makes a mockery of the Christian doctrine of love.

Clergymen are at the heart of this country’s history — why else do the novels of Anthony Trollope or programmes such as The Vicar of Dibley strike such a chord? They are figures of tradition and continuity and pillars of the community — a bit like Captain Tom in his way. Posturing curates such as the Rev Robinson-Brown ignore this at their peril.

The Diocese of London accepts the comments were ‘ unacceptable, insensitive and ill judged’. They say a review is under way, and that the Rev Robinson-Brown has deleted his tweet.

But the damage is done. A few more congregants will bid their farewells. And another nail has been hammered into the Cofe coffin.