THE York priest at the centre of controversy after advising needy people to shoplift has hit back at a supermarket giant’s criticism of him.

Father Tim Jones has sparked feverish debate following his pre-Christmas sermon in which he said stealing from large national chains was the best option available to those struggling to cope.

The parish priest of St Lawrence and St Hilda’s comments led to a backlash from retailers, with supermarket chain Asda saying shoplifting equated to robbing from workers and describing him as being “one psalm short of a sermon”.

But despite the angry reaction to his sermon, Father Jones said he was “not interested” in criticism from people who spend “hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds on rubbish” instead of donating to good causes.

And he responded to Asda’s “one psalm short of a sermon” comment by launching his own broadside against the chain’s American owners Wal-Mart, which has been attacked for its lack of recognition of trade unions.

“I would say in response that Wal-Mart is a trade union recognition short of an ethical employment policy,” said Father Jones.

“I would expect major retailers to disagree with me, but I would ask them to provide statistics of how much they lose to shoplifting compared with how much food they throw away.

“Shoplifting is a dreadful thing, it’s wrong and it causes harm, but when society leaves people with appalling choices, we should not be surprised when they choose one of them. It strikes me as grotesque that people spend hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds on rubbish they don’t need, and if they do that, they are in no position to ‘tut-tut’ if other people take something which doesn’t belong to them.

“It’s dangerous and they risk being in trouble with the law, but the fact they may feel this is their only option is a terrible indictment on the rest of us.

“I’d ask those who believe what I said is a dreadful thing how much they have given to York’s Arc Light Centre or Peasholme Centre or the Salvation Army, compared to how much they spend having a good time at Christmas. If they haven’t given anything, I’m not interested.”

Father Jones also said he “didn’t expect” the global exposure his sermon has received, adding: “I hoped it would provoke discussion about the situation in York, but what I’m pleased about is that, in the last few days before Christmas, we are talking about the most vulnerable and needy members of society, which is what we should be talking about.”

Asda said it did not wish to comment on Father Jones’ latest views.