Reading West MP Martin Salter's being accused of insulting the Catholic religion after branding the Pope a 'hypocrite' and referring to him as 'a bloke in a dress.'

Earlier this week, Benedict the Sixteenth attacked the UK's Equality Bill telling English and Welsh Bishops that it could end the right of the church to ban gay people from senior positions.

Martin Salter, who's due to stand down at the next election, hit out at the Pope saying his comments could be 'the first time that a bloke in a dress has complained about equality legislation.'

He also said it was hypocritical 'of a leader of a church that internationally covered up its own institutionalised abuse.' 

Reading West Green Party candidate Adrian Windisch who disagrees with Salter's comments said: "To insult the Pope is an insult to Catholics across the country, across the world.

"The words he used are inflammatory and quite wrong.

"I agree that the Pope is often wrong, but to insult the man - a man who something like 10% of this country have a lot of respect for - that's just wrong."

Martin Salter said: "Anyone that knows me knows that for the last 25 years I've worked with all the faith groups in Reading, I'm a regular member of the Reading Inter-Faith Group.

"I do value the work of the faith communities, but none of us are above ridicule and we do need to keep a sense of proportion and a sense of humour.

"I am genuinely sorry if people took my comments the wrong way, and I do assure people that my future blog posts will also poke fun at all political parties including my own, and probably poke fun at other religions and belief systems as well.

"This is a light-hearted way of getting some serious points of view across."