The Bishop of Chelmsford is pressing ministers to take part in United Nations discussions on banning nuclear weapons, branding them 'immoral' and a 'lethal extravagance'.

Stephen Cottrell said the 'world needs to find another way' and asked whether the UK would attend a high-level UN conference discussing nuclear disarmament in May.

'I want to say, simply, that nuclear weapons are immoral, that they are a lethal extravagance, and that we must find another way,' he said in a speech in the House of Lords on Tuesday.

Bishop Cottrell is a long-time campaigner against nuclear weapons and addressed a fringe meeting at the Church of England's ruling general synod earlier this month, urging pressure on the government to abandon its nuclear deterrent.

'The truth is that these weapons of mass destruction are also weapons of mass deception,' he said. 'They provide the illusion of security, while actually making the world less secure than ever. North Korea now joins the nuclear club. Who will be next? And do we really feel safe with Donald Trump's finger upon the button?

'And will we ever be told the truth about their cost, their un-usability, their increasing detectability, their vulnerability to cyber-attack, the near misses and accidents that have happened over the years, and even the fact that there are military people today who now acknowledge their redundancy in the face of the security threats and military needs of a much changed world, or simply that if we have all these billion to spend on something we claim we will never use, how about a few more hospitals instead.'

Citing the banning of cluster bombs and chemical weapons under international law as positive progress, Bishop Cottrell said the 'moral arguments about nuclear weapons are just as compelling, if not more so; for to use a nuclear weapon is suicide as well as genocide'.

'My simple question to the Minister is: Will we be there? And if not, why not?,' he added.

'I speak for many churches and many people of faith in this nation, asking our Government simply to take part in the process.'