The leader of Scotland’s Roman Catholics has reacted to the Scottish Secretary’s attempt to woo religious voters by accusing Labour of a “systematic and unrelenting attack on family values”.

In a stinging rebuke to Jim Murphy, Cardinal Keith O’Brien said he could not think of a “tangible example” of the Government embracing the views of the Catholic Church in the past decade.

Instead he argued Gordon Brown and Labour had consistently undermined religious freedom by ignoring objections to new laws permitting experimentation on embryos, civil partnerships and same-sex adoption.

The backlash came in response to a speech at the Commons by Jim Murphy, the Scottish Secretary, in which he attempted to reach out to religious voters ahead of the general election.

Mr Murphy, who is also a Catholic, told a think tank meeting that Labour must take on board the concerns of religious voters if the party is to win a fourth term in power.

He said people of all faiths listen when Cardinal O’Brien speaks, in response to which the cardinal said “any recognition” of the role faith plays in society is to be welcomed.

But he continued “a tangible example by the Government over the last decade that it acknowledged or endorsed religious values would also have been welcomed.

“Instead we have witnessed this Government undertake a systematic and unrelenting attack on family values.

“This is a charge I personally put to Gordon Brown when we met in 2008 and I have seen no evidence since then to suggest anything has changed.”

The leader of Scotland’s 750,000 Catholics then listed a series of new laws that have been passed despite the objections of the church and other faiths.

Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory Leader, said: “People of deep faith are to be found in every political party, and it is distasteful for any political party to claim some kind of monopoly on ‘faith votes’.

“Such conduct is inappropriate and diminishing and voters will see right through it.”

• Full story at the Daily Telegraph.

• Filed under Elections, Roman Catholic Church, Scottish Christian News Monitor, Secularism.