Politicians of all parties are coming under pressure to reduce the Civil List in the light of the recession. The Civil List, which consists of public money awarded to the royal family each year, currently stands at around £7.9million.

Christian campaigners have echoed this week's calls by trades unions to ensure that economic policies in the wake of the recession do not cause further harm to the most vulnerable people.

Religion, the church and the global recession is the focus of an international conference featuring economists, theologians and philosophers at the University of Nottingham.