Speaking to members of the Anglican Communion in Accra, Ghana, where he is still visiting, he said that he was twice summoned to Parliament over the issue as he blamed rising secularism for triggering the historic debate at General Synod, the Church's legislative body, on the new blessings.

He also warned that the church should not be "dictated to", "blackmailed" or "bribed" over the issue.

However, Sir Tony Baldry, 72, who served as the Second Church Estates Commissioner from 2010 to 2015, a role appointed by the Crown and serves as a link between Parliament and the Church, said he was "surprised" by the Archbishop's comments, as he accused him of not offering "a fair reflection of what happened" nor "a fair representation of the facts".

'Not a fair reflection of what happened'

Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: "I think the only reasonable inference from Archbishop Justin's speech in Accra was that the General Synod had voted in the way in which it had done, to allow for same-sex blessings, because they had in some way been pressured by external forces.

"And that was clearly not a fair reflection of what happened. And in not being a fair reflection of what happened, I'm quite sure it will cause those who doubted the sincerity of the apology to the LGBT community to further question the sincerity of that apology."

Sir Tony, the former Conservative MP for Banbury from 1983 to 2015 who served as the minister of state for agriculture, fisheries and food under John Major, added: "You can't one day in General Synod be giving a fulsome apology to the way in which the LGBT+ community had been treated, and go on to say it's now going to be possible to bless same-sex unions, and then literally the week afterwards seek to give the suggestion that that was a concession that was only made because of unreasonable pressure from external forces.

"It's not a fair representation of the facts and it doesn't help the debate really."

He added that following the landmark Synod vote, there are now "two distinct tribes in the Church of England" -- for or against the same-sex blessings -- "and I don't think it helps by trying to create greater rifts between the tribes or by suggesting that there are exterior forces at work".

The former minister said that, as a member of the House of Lords, it is not unusual for the Archbishop of Canterbury to meet with fellow parliamentarians. "The Archbishop is a member of the House of lords and uses Parliament very well to get across his messages when he wants to," he added.

Referring to his meetings with MPs, the Archbishop has previously said that these were "private" and he has been "disappointed that some parliamentarians have failed to honour this agreement".

'Archbishop fully supports the new prayers'

A Lambeth Palace spokesman said: "The Archbishop categorically did not say in his speech in Ghana that Synod voted to introduce new prayers for same-sex couples because of external pressure.

"The Synod voted on the proposals put forward by the bishops after a six-year process of listening, learning and discernment across the Church of England. It passed with an overwhelming majority in the House of Bishops, with the Houses of Clergy and Laity voting in favour too.

"Having participated in that six-year process himself, the Archbishop wholeheartedly endorses the motion as amended and carried by Synod, including the Church's apology to LGBTQI+ people.

"Archbishop Justin fully supports the new prayers, though he will not personally use them because of his role in the Anglican Communion as a focus of unity. The Archbishop has articulated that position in full to Anglicans from around the Communion gathered in Accra this week."

END