The Archbishop of Canterbury made a rare appearance on Good Morning Britain today - and admitted that he has been praying for Prime Minister Boris Johnson every day.
This comes amid extensive criticism of how the prime minister's government has handled the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.
On Wednesday, England was plunged into a national lockdown yesterday, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak extending furlough support into March next year.
Speaking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, Archbishop Justin Welby was asked whether he ever prayed for Boris Johnson.
"Yeah, every day," he replied.
A stunned Piers replied: "Really?!"
"Yeah, of course," the Archbishop responded.
Piers asked cheekily: "Why isn't it working?"
He replied: "How do you know it isn't?"
The presenter laughed as Susanna questioned whether he ever prayed for Piers, to which he responded: "Er, I haven't much - I have once or twice when I hear him."
Piers seemed shocked by the revelation: "Really? You actually pray for me?"
Archbishop Welby responded: "Yeah, I have! I won't tell you why..."
Probed about it, he added: "Well, you're doing OK..."
"Well we need to leave it there," Piers said. "This getting very deep very quickly. We need to have a private conversation about when and why you pray for me!"
*Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV
