|PIC1|The wife of the Archbishop of York has rebutted any suggestions that her husband Dr John Sentamu's appointment in 2005 as the second-most senior member of the Church of England was motivated by "political correctness".

Mrs Margaret Sentamu said she "didn't lose sleep over the political correctness suggestion".

"There are processes that meant that wasn't the case," she said.

Mrs Sentamu insisted that Dr Sentamu had been offered the position to fulfil a specific purpose and to "support" Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of the Church of England.

Originally from Uganda like her husband, Mrs Sentamu added that her husband had been selected as someone who could "help the Church to become credible in the community".

However, the Archbishop's wife, a principal consultant at Odgers, Ray and Berndtson, Britain's biggest firm of head-hunters, told the Yorkshire Post publication that she believes the Church has "some way to go in attracting a diverse range of clergy".

"I believe passionately in discerning what the individual is being called to do - particularly women. In the church, it is quite bad - it is not as diverse as it should be. They say 'There is John Sentamu,' but how many of him is there?" she added.

Speaking about her husband, Mrs Sentamu commented: "His faith commitment drives him. He thinks the Church should be a positive in the community. With every pronouncement he makes he puts his head above the parapet to be shot down. He has created work for himself - but he enjoys it."