Lord Carey Slams Bishops Over Benefits Cap

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has thrown his weight behind the Government's plans to introduce a £26,000 benefits cap.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the cleric argued that the current welfare system is rewarding "fecklessness and irresponsibility".
He criticised opponents of the annual benefits limit and said the scale of Britain's public debt - which hit £1trn this week - was the "greatest moral scandal" facing the country.
"If we can't get the deficit under control and begin paying back this debt, we will be mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren," he said.
"In order to do this, we desperately need to reform our welfare system."
The Government has vowed to implement its Welfare Reform Bill "in full" despite a stinging parliamentary defeat in the House of Lords that saw a record rebellion among Liberal Democrat peers.
The revolt was led by Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Rt Rev John Packer, who tabled a successful amendment calling for child benefit to be excluded from the cap. It was backed by a majority of 15, including four other senior church bishops.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith claims the planned £500-a-week cap on benefit payments will save around £600m towards deficit reduction and ensure workless households cannot receive more than the average working family.
Lord Carey backed the Tory minister, saying he was trying to reform a welfare system which is "fuelling vices and impoverishing us all".
Despite a number of Liberal Democrat rebels opposing the move, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said he is fully signed up to the changes.
Around 67,000 families will lose £83 a week under the cap, which is due to be brought in from 2013 in England, Scotland and Wales.
Prime Minister David Cameron insisted it was a "basic issue of fairness".
"It's time to call time on these excessive welfare payouts," he added. "That's what the benefit cap will do."