Dr Jeffrey John, the gay cleric forced to stand down as Bishop of Reading, has been appointed Dean of St Albans.

"I support the state and the church offering gay people a framework for living their lives," he told a press conference yesterday.

"I hope that ultimately the church will be able to bless that kind of relationship too.  It can be sacramental because it can reflect that love."

However his appointment, which was approved by Downing Street, has again courted controversy.

"I'm very unhappy with it," the Rev David Holloway told BBC Radio 4's World At One programme.

"I don't know what Tony Blair had in mind, it is certainly in keeping with this government's commitment to pieces of immoral legislation, from endorsing virtual gay marriages to promoting or allowing the promotion of homosexual relationships in schools, which happened with the repeal of clause 28."