A SENIOR Hampshire Labour MP has defended the Government after it came under attack over its record from leading Church of England bishops.

Southampton Itchen MP and Cabinet minister John Denham said the clergymen, including the Bishop of Winchester, were wrong to blame his party for family breakdown, an addiction to debt and a growing gap between rich and poor.

The Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt was among five bishops who accused ministers of squandering their opportunity to transform society.

Their attack came after the Archbishop of Canterbury criticised the Government last week.

Dr Rowan Williams said Gordon Brown’s plans to spend more in order to tackle the recession were like an “addict returning to the drug”, and suggested the economy had been going in the wrong direction for decades.

Bishop Michael, the fourth most senior bishop in the Church of England, said: “The Government hasn’t done anything like enough to help those less well off, particularly in terms of tax redistribution. There also has been the disaster of the 10p tax. It’s imperative that this Government helps the poorer people and holds the hard-hit communities in its sights, but it seems to have its eye on re-election instead.”

Mr Scott-Joynt, 65, has been bishop since 1995 and has a seat in the House of Lords.

However Mr Denham, the secretary of state for universities, skills and innovation, said: “I hope that Bishop Michael does give us credit for reducing very substantially the number of children being brought up in this country in poverty. This is a direct result of the tax choices we have made and our willingness to raise the incomes of those families in work and those who have not yet been able to get back into work.

“We have only been able to make these improvements because we have been elected. We have reversed the policies of the Conservatives in government which let child poverty rise until a third of children were living in poverty.

“We know that to get elected we have to get votes from right across society and I believe the approach we have taken over the past ten years has been aimed at helping those who most need help, but also ensuring that those who work hard and show responsibility also get a fair deal.”

A Government spokeswoman added that fairness was at the core of its agenda.

She said: “The Government has a strong record of helping people out of poverty. Since 1997 we’ve lifted 600,000 children and 900,000 pensioners out of relative poverty and we have committed to enshrining in legislation our target to eradicate child poverty in 2020.

“We have also made record increases in the amount invested in public services over the last decade.

“When times are tough we believe that people should be given more support, not less.

“That is why we are giving real help now to families and businesses during this global economic downturn, to help those affected retrain and get a new job and keep their homes.”