TWO senior churchmen are writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury to demand that he sack one of his key advisers after the row over Canon Jeffrey John’s withdrawal.

The churchmen are infuriated at the role played by Jeremy Harris, the Secretary for Public Affairs to Dr Rowan Williams, at the meeting where Dr John was persuaded to resign.

Mr Harris was one of a handful of advisers who attended the crucial meeting on Saturday between the Archbishop, the Bishop of Oxford and Dr John in which the resignation was agreed. Mr Harris’s position gives him immense influence as the senior gatekeeper to the Archbishop, and he is the prime link between Dr Williams and the outside world.

The letters, one from a senior clergyman and the other from a senior lay member of the Church, express deep concern that the advice given to Dr Williams was too sympathetic to the evangelical wing of the Church, and that the authority of the Archbishop is being undermined by the row over Dr John’s appointment and forced withdrawal.

As Secretary for Public Affairs Mr Harris, a former BBC reporter, is the Archbishop’s most senior lay adviser. He deals with the Archbishop’s relations with Downing Street and Parliament, businesses, the media, and the huge number of organisations inside and outside the Church that request audiences.

Like the other close circle of staff surrounding the Archbishop, such as the the Rev Jonathan Jennings, the Press Secretary, and the Rev Herman Browne, the Secretary for the Anglican Communion, Mr Harris was appointed by Dr Williams’s predecessor, Dr George Carey, an evangelical.

One of the most pressing requirements for applicants to the advisory positions is loyalty to the Archbishop and an ability to keep their counsel.

A former member of staff at Lambeth Palace said that the relationship was similar to that of a government minister being advised by his principal private secretary and other senior civil servants.

Mr Harris, who attends a Church in West London, is considered an astute man who understands the political manoeuvres and demands of the Church.

While critics condemned his handling of the row, others who know him described him as helpful, easy to get on with and a good strategist. Although his religious sympathies remain unclear, even to close colleagues he is not considered to be a fundamentalist evangelical.

One former Lambeth Palace worker said it was likely that Mr Harris had to give the Archbishop difficult advice because no one else was prepared to take responsibility, assess the situation and offer guidance, however unpalatable.

Mr Harris, 52, was educated at Sevenoaks School and went on to study at Clare College, Cambridge.

He entered journalism with the BBC in 1974 and in 1982 was appointed Madrid correspondent. He was later posted to Moscow and Washington before returning to London in 1995 to become a Radio 4 presenter.

He became Secretary for Public Affairs to Dr Carey in 1998, and a year later was made deputy head of staff at Lambeth Palace.

Jonathan Jennings, as the Archbishop’s Press Secretary, also attended the meeting on Saturday, though, like Dr Harris, was not present for the entire session. He has worked in the Church of England’s media departments since 1992 and was appointed Press Secretary two years ago. He was ordained as a deacon in 1986 and a year later became a priest, with curateships in Durham and Darlington, before moving into press relations.

Mr Jennings is junior to Mr Harris but is still regarded as highly influential. His role is to deal with media inquiries and to assess the impact the Church is making in the print and broadcast media.

His position was described as “Lambeth Palace’s Alastair Campbell”, in that he is the most senior of all the press officers in the Church of England. He is said to be thoughtful, congenial and highly experienced.

It was not clear if Mr Browne was present at the meeting but his views would have been sought by the Archbishop, primarily to assess the impact of Dr John’s appointment as bishop on the Anglican Church around the world.

His chief role is to act as Lambeth Palace’s link between the Church of England and Anglican archbishops in other countries, including the Archbishops of Nigeria and the West Indies, who said that Dr John’s appointment could cause a schism in the Anglican Communion.

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