The Archbishop of Canterbury entered the ongoing pre-election debate over abortion yesterday by saying there was a "groundswell of distaste" for current legislation and calling for its review.

Rowan Williams was criticised in the tabloid press for not speaking out in support of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's intervention in the debate last week.

In a Sunday Times article the archbishop claimed a commission to study whether the time limit for abortions should be reduced was "worth thinking about".

Despite the Tories' earlier reluctance to make abortion a party political issue, Michael Howard has promised to allow time for a parliamentary debate if the Tories are elected to office.

Ann Widdecombe, a Conservative former minister and a Catholic convert, has said she would initiate a private member's bill in the next parliament to reduce the time limit.

Senior Labour women ministers have insisted that a re-elected Labour government would not allow an early vote.