Dr John Sentamu: Church of England Race Row

It has recently been claimed that the Archbishop of York , Dr John Sentamu, the current early favourite to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury has been the victim of "naked racism".

Dr John Sentamu was born in Uganda and is the only black Bishop in the Church of England. According to his former aide the Rev Arun Arora, Dr John Sentamu has been targeted by an "anonymous whispering" campaign by critics trying to slander his name, and claims it has the potential to be hugely damaging to the Church.

In the past Dr Sentamu has spoken about his experiences with racism, but says that it came from outside the church walls.

Rev Arora has said that there was a "stark contrast" between the portrayal of Dr Sentamu and the treatment of the other bishops.

"At its best, the besmirching of John Sentamu has revealed that strand of snobbery which views outsiders as lacking class, diplomacy or civility - in other words 'not one of us,'" said Rev Arora.

He added, "At worst, it has elicited the naked racism which still bubbles under the surface in our society, and which is exposed when a black man is in line to break the chains of history."

The allegations have been instantly played down by the Church of England. A spokesman from Church of England said "the claims came from an old blog post by Rev Arora, and added: "There is a comprehensive process for selecting the next Archbishop of Canterbury, details of which are available online, and involves an extensive consultation process."

Alex Boadi