THE BISHOP of Rochester is the bookies' favourite to take over as Archbishop of Canterbury when the position becomes vacant in October.

Speculation over who will take over the Church of England's top job has been rife since current incumbent George Carey announced his retirement.

Local bishop, the Right Reverend Doctor Michael Nazir-Ali, has been installed by bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes as a 5/2 favourite to land the Lambeth Palace post.

The Pakistani-born bishop leads other candidates Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, and neighbouring Bishop of Southwark Tom Butler.

But Dr Nazir-Ali was not in the mood to talk about the selection of the new archbishop, instead he preferred to talk of outgoing Dr Carey's achievements.

He said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Carey, has worked to encourage greater confidence in the Church of England. He has taken every opportunity to make it mission minded in its engagement with contemporary culture.

"He is highly respected in the Anglican community because he has sought to unite it on a basis of principle and not mere expediency. The Archbishop's office has also assumed a higher profile and importance."