Archbishop of Canterbury hailed for reaction to news of biological dad

The Archbishop of Canterbury has been praised by faith leaders for the way he revealed that his biological father was not the man he first thought.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, who believed his father was Gavin Welby, said on Friday it was “a complete surprise” to find through DNA evidence that his father is the late Anthony Montague Browne — Winston Churchill’s last private secretary. In a statement he said: “I know that I find who I am in Jesus Christ, not in genetics, and my identity in him never changes.”

His mother, Lady Williams of Elvel, 86, described the revelation as “an almost unbelievable shock”, but added she recalls going to bed with Montague Browne “fuelled by a large amount of alcohol on both sides”.