Rev Dr Colin Morris, a former President of the Methodist Conference and BBC head of religion, has died aged 89.

The son of a miner, Morris was known for his outspoken anti-racist views as well as being a strong critic of capitalism.

After ordination as a Methodist minister Morris went to Zambia, then Northern Rhodesia, from 1956-1969. He became close friends with the leader of the independence movement, Kenneth Kaunda, who later became Zambia's president. He worked closely with Kaunda on negotiations for Zambia's independence from British colonial rule.

While in Zambia he was also closely involved in the formation of the United Church of Zambia, which was established soon after the country's independence, and became its first president in 1965.

After his return to the UK in 1969, he became minister of Wesley's Chapel, London, in 1970 and general secretary of the Overseas Division of the Methodist Church in 1975.

A year later in 1976 he was appointed President of the Methodist Conference before joining the BBC in 1978. After becoming known for his regular contributions to Thought for the Day on Radio 4 he was made head of religious broadcasting in 1979. After eight years in the role he switched to become controller of BBC Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1991.

A prolific writer, preacher and broadcaster, his work in television bought him a generous salary and a comfortable retirement – something he admitted feeling embarrassed by as both a socialist and a non-conformist.

'I've got this nonconformist conviction that one should live within one's means,' he told The Observer Money in 2000. 'So I live in absolute horror of being overdrawn. But I know it's a very unsophisticated way of understanding money.'

He added: 'When I went from being a Methodist minister to head of religious TV, I began to wonder how I'd ever lived on one penny less than I was now earning. Money becomes an absolute necessity. I was dealing with enormous budgets, and it's amazing how quickly you get used to signing large cheques with a flourish.

'I had started off in the anti-capitalist mode, but later I realised capitalism wasn't going to go away. It would be hypocritical to condemn it utterly and draw a pension made by a capitalist system.'

Instead he tried to live for a more humane capitalist approach and spoke in favour of ethical investment and the work of Jubilee 2000 in reducing Third World debt.

Rev Canon Gareth Powell, secretary of the Conference, said: 'Colin Morris was one of the most effective and thoughtful communicators of a generation. He took the task seriously, was alert to the contexts in which he served, and above all he waited on God.

'In Colin, Methodism was faithfully and passionately represented but more than that; the gospel was proclaimed with integrity.'