A senior bishop in the Church of England today endorsed the "shoot-to-kill" policy of the Metropolitan police against suspected suicide bombers.

The Bishop of Southwark, the Right Rev Tom Butler, said shoot-to-kill should be used as a last resort.

In a General Synod debate on terrorism at Church House, Westminster, Bishop Butler said the death of innocent suspect Jean Charles de Menezes was a tragedy.

But he continued: "When the lives of many people may be threatened by a suicide bomber, the police should have the right to use lethal force as a last resort. No-one wants that, but sometimes there may be no alternative."

The synod voted to condemn the July bombings in London and to call for the underlying causes of terrorism to be understood and addressed. The synod also reiterated the "clear warnings of history" when free speech and religious liberty are eroded.

There were also calls for Christians to love and forgive the bombers.

David Tweedie, of the Coventry diocese, said: "Our Christian duty obliges us to love everyone. How do we love these people? There must be actions we can take to deal with this problem. We must forgive them... We must pray for them."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, warned against the re-emergence of torture in interrogation. "We have seen in recent months some cautious but rather worrying rationalisation of the possible legitimacy of torture, or robust interrogation, in the fight against terrorism." He said the Church should stand in the clearest possible way against this.

Mark Russell, a member of the Archbishops' Council, said 30 years of condemnations had failed to stop terrorism in Northern Ireland. He said a solution only began to emerge when people started to look at what motivated the IRA. "The only solution is to begin to address the causes of terrorism and why people engage in it."

Earlier, the new Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, attacked the "scandalous" divisions in the Church.

Dr Sentamu was standing next to the Queen, the Church's Supreme Governor, when he rebuked nearly 500 synod members at Church House, Westminster. He quoted the prophet Jonah, and said: "You cannot go on as you are."

The Queen inaugurated the new synod for its next five years of legislation. The most divisive issues ahead will be next February's debate on ordaining women bishops and the gay controversy that has brought the Anglican Church to the brink of schism.

Dr Sentamu said the roots of the word "synod" meant "together on the way". "As a synod we must, in obedience to God, respond to his judgement and renewal," he said. "We can't go on as we are."

Dr Sentamu admitted that discerning the "mind of Christ" in relation to specific issues can be challenging and difficult.

But he continued: "I am glad that when we have to vote by houses we will no longer hear, "Divide!" but "Decide!". As Cyprian, bishop and martyr, said: 'To go into schism is to break that love between believers which is inherent in the church'."

Dr Sentamu was speaking after an address by the Queen, who had urged the Church of England to find a way of being "contemporary and adaptable" while remaining true to convictions of lasting value. She said that the Church's leaders were faced with particular challenges at the present time and the two Archbishops were carrying "a heavy burden of responsibility."

Inaugurating the new synod, which like Parliament has a five-yearly term, the Queen referred to the 35 years of synodical government already gone. She said they were but a "brief span" in Church history yet had witnessed change perhaps more rapid and far-reaching than in any previous generation.

She said: "For Christians, this pace of change represents an opportunity. When so much is in flux, when limitless amounts of information, much of it ephemeral, are instantly accessible on demand, there is a renewed hunger for that which endures and gives meaning.

"The Christian church can speak uniquely to that need, for at the heart of our faith stands the conviction that all people, irrespective of race, background or circumstances, can find lasting significance and purpose in the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

However, she said that the nature and speed of change pose dilemmas. While past laws may no longer be what the Church requires, changing them requires perseverance. At the same time, the Synod would want time to address social, economic and ethical questions.

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