Archbishop of Canterbury calls for halt of Universal Credit rollout as he calls exploitation of workers 'reincarnation of ancient evil'

Justin Welby says flagship government policy has left people worse off and caused 'immense suffering'

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the government to halt the introduction of Universal Credit as he claimed zero hours contracts are "the reincarnation of an ancient evil".

In a major speech to the TUC conference in Manchester, Justin Welby said the controversial welfare changes, which merge six existing benefits into one payment, have "left too many people worse off".

Ministers must "stop rolling it out" until they have found a way to stop the "intense suffering", he said.

In a surprisingly political speech that received a standing ovation from union members, Mr Welby also condemned tech giants such as Amazon, which he accused of "leaching off the taxpayer".

Asked about the impact of Universal Credit during a question and answer session after his address, the Archbishop said the heavily-criticised policy had not done what it was designed to do.

He said: "Universal Credit was supposed to reform the benefits system, make it simpler and more efficient. It has not done that. We know that.

"We know that it has left too many people worse off than they were, putting people at the heightened risk of hunger. Can you believe we say this in England in the 21st century? Heightened risk of hunger, debt, rent arrears, food banks.

“When Universal Credit comes into a local area, the need for food banks goes up very significantly.”

Mr Welby said bishops in the House of Lords had repeatedly argued that government welfare policy was causing "intense suffering" and that "the inefficiency of the system is not working”.

He added: “I'm not a technical expert in this and I'm careful about dancing through minefields, but what is clear is if they can’t get it right, they need to stop rolling it out, because we must have people who have adequate incomes to live with dignity."

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: "Universal Credit (UC) replaces an out-of-date, complex benefits system with cliff edges that disincentivised work and often trapped people in unemployment. Under UC, evidence shows people are moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the old system."

In a wide-ranging speech on economic justice, Mr Welby also attacked the use of zero hours contracts.

He was speaking a day after John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, announced that Labour to give all temporary workers the same rights as full employees.

Recalling his experience of unemployment and insecure work during his time as dean of Liverpool cathedral, Mr Welby said: "In Liverpool, the bitterness of the docks remained, from before the system was reformed, when daily work was uncertain and thus also the ability to feed the family.

"John McDonnell knew that from his father, and experienced the gig economy and zero hours contracts in those days.

"Today there are some who view that kind of oppression of the employed as a virtue. The gig economy, zero hours contracts, is nothing new. It is simply the reincarnation of an ancient evil."

Condemning a tax system that he said was too lenient, Mr Welby laid into tech giants like Amazon, which he accused of "leaching off the taxpayer".

"When vast companies like Amazon, and other online traders, the new industries, can get away with paying almost nothing in tax, there is something wrong with the tax system," he said.

"They don’t pay a real living wage, so the tax payer must support their workers with benefits. And having leached off the tax payer once they don’t pay for our defence, for security, for stability, for justice, for health, for equality, for education.

"Then they complain of an under-trained work force, from the education they have not paid for, and pay almost nothing for apprenticeships. Those are only a fraction of the costs of aggressive tax management."

An Amazon spokesperson said: "We pay all taxes required in the UK and every country where we operate. In May 2015, to ensure we had the best business structure to serve our customers going forward, we established a local country branch of Amazon EU Sarl in the UK, with all retail revenues, expenses, profits and taxes due now accounted for in the UK."

The Archbishop was speaking hours after the Church of England officially adopted the internationally-recognised definition of antisemitism that has been at the heart of a row in the Labour Party in recent months.

In a clear swipe at Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, he warned politicians about the use of "insensitive language" and criticised online abuse of religious minorities.

Mr Corbyn faced criticism last month after a video emerged of him claiming "British Zionists" do not understand "British irony", while Mr Johnson provoked fury by suggesting wearers of the Muslim niqab looked like "bank robbers".

Mr Welby said: "On both left and right we have seen language that has been insensitive to the very real vulnerabilities of those who are often talked about, much less often talked with."

"When any vulnerable group is objectified, trolled on social media, dismissed, then all of us are diminished. Such things are not worthy of our country."