His comments came after John Bercow was criticised for accusing Mr Trump of "racism and sexism", and are likely to further complicate the planning for the president's state visit later this year.

Addressing the Church of England's General Synod, the Archbishop said both Brexit and Mr Trump's rise had been caused by factors including globalisation and social "marginalisation".

Sketching a pessimistic view of Britain, he spoke of a "very serious and ultimately unsustainable balance of payments deficit, the appallingly low levels of investment by the corporate sector, the near absence of research and development funding, the dreadful levels of educational aspiration amongst those who have the least opportunities, the growing demands of care for an older population to a degree that will put massive strain on government funding, the skills gap, the lack of progress towards our goals of a carbon neutral economy".

But he said leaving the EU had provided "a moment to reimagine Britain," adding: "This could be a time of liberation, of seizing and defining the future, or it could be one in which the present problems seize our national future and define us."

Addressing allegations of child abuse against John Smyth QC, a former friend accused of savagely beating boys, the Archbishop said the Church was not unique, and that "abuse has occurred across every tradition of the church, and in every other institution, and in society as a whole, and above all in families".