Justin Welby angered by Daily Mail characterization of his remarks in Germany

Following the publication by the Daily Mail of a story entitled “Archbishop Says Sorry For Bombing the Nazis” (Saturday 14 February) the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has issued the following statement on the “manifestly false” story.

A spokesperson for the Archbishop of Canterbury said:  “Any suggestion that the Archbishop was apologising is manifestly false.   The Archbishop’s comments were a reflection in a solemn ceremony on the tragedy of war. They very carefully avoided apologising, and those present, including the President of Germany, recognised the difference. In his speech the President also recognised the fact that there is no equivalence with Nazi war crimes and that the war started with Nazi aggression.  In broadcast interviews immediately following his speech the Archbishop refused to say he was apologising, but repeated that war is always tragedy. He also referred to the terrible losses in Bomber command. Archbishop Welby said it was not a question of blame and spoke of the bombing of Coventry, Liverpool, London and other places.”