A parish priest who advised needy people to shoplift in certain circumstances defended his remarks yesterday.

Father Tim Jones, parish priest of St Lawrence and St Hilda in York, said in a weekend sermon that stealing from large national chains was sometimes the best option many vulnerable people had.

Speaking to GMTV yesterday, he said: "I have never said it is OK to steal. It is a dreadful thing to steal," but he added that the bigger companies suffered "less harm" from shoplifting than smaller businesses. And he accused the larger businesses of contributing a "pitiful" amount to charity. Asked about the impact of stealing on the bigger retailers, he said: "The harm caused is somewhat less.

"Many (small businesses) in the current climate are struggling in the most desperate way."

Talking about the situations of certain vulnerable people, Fr Jones told his congregation: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift.

"I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

"I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

"I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."

He added: "Let my words not be misrepresented as a simplistic call for people to shoplift.

"The observation that shoplifting is the best option that some people are left with is a grim indictment of who we are.

"Rather, this is a call for our society no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt.

"When people are released from prison, or find themselves suddenly without work or family support, then to leave them for weeks and weeks with inadequate or clumsy social support is monumental, catastrophic folly."