THE most senior figure in the Church of England in Buckinghamshire has disagreed with comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury on Sharia law.

The Right Rev John Pritchard said authorities should be "extremely cautious" about the move suggested by The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

British law "ought to apply to everyone" irrespective of religion he said.

Dr Williams said a move towards Sharia law - which applies to Muslims only - seemed "unavoidable".

Muslims should not have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty" he said.

The Rt Revd Pritchard said: "My instincts are that we should be extremely cautious about welcoming Sharia law into Britain.

"British law has been built upon Judaeo-Christian foundations over many centuries and established through parliament and our courts and I don't think that should be undermined.

"British law ought to apply to everyone in Britain, Muslim or not."

He said: "This is not something I feel qualified to comment upon, as I don't have a detailed understanding of Sharia law or how uniformly it is applied from country to country. Clearly we hear most about the extremes."

Church and some Muslim leaders have distanced themselves from Dr Williams' views.

Culture secretary Andy Burnham said: "The British legal system should apply to everybody equally.

"You cannot run two systems of law alongside each other.

"That would, in my view, be a recipe for chaos, social chaos."

Shaista Gohir, government adviser on Muslim women said: "The majority of Muslims do not want it.

"Many Muslim commentators and the media are wrongly assuming that all Muslims want Sharia law in the UK."