|PIC1|The head of Bible Society, James Catford, presented a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible to Prime Minister Gordon Brown during a visit to Downing Street.

The Poverty and Justice Bible is the first ever to highlight more than 2,000 passages that speak of God's attitude to poverty and injustice. Challenging the notion that the Bible is a dusty, outdated rulebook, it shows that on the biggest issues of our day God got there first.

James Catford was at Downing Street as part of a delegation of Christian leaders to launch the government's new faith consultation, Believing for a Better Britain, and to celebrate the achievements of four Faithworks prize winning community projects.

The Prime Minister, who is known for his commitment to tackling social justice issues, quoted the Kings James Version of the Bible in a party conference speech last year. He read Mathew 19.14 which says, "suffer the little children to come unto me"- to make his case for an end to child poverty, and told his audience, "No Bible I have ever read says: ''bring just some of the children.'"

James Catford said, "From international politics to healthcare, the Bible has a role to play in public life, leadership and decision-making. It was a privilege to be able to present a copy of The Poverty and Justice Bible and to stress these important issues to the Prime Minister.

"For us in this country, issues of poverty and justice have increasingly become front and centre. What The Poverty and Justice Bible shows is that on the topics that challenge us every day, God got there first.

"The Bible has something to say about life. In fact, there's nothing on earth that we can experience that the Bible doesn't tackle."