The UK asylum system denies people the “dignity, safety and agency” they deserve, the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell told Parliament.

He added that it should treat everyone the same, and not give preferential treatment to claimants from one country over another.

Currently, the UK has special schemes set up for refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Syria, with more limited options for people from elsewhere.

The Archbishop of York’s comments came after the Archbishop of Canterbury condemned the UK’s asylum system in a bold speech, during which he said “control has become cruelty”.

The Archbishop of York, the second most senior bishop in the Church of England, supported his colleague, and added his own take on the situation.

He said: “The hard truth is our asylum system simply doesn’t treat everyone the same. It doesn’t give people the dignity, safety and agency that their humanity deserves.

“Dehumanising language just promotes fear. A threat of destitution is being used as a deterrent and children are treated as if they are adults.

“Yet in our own country, amongst our own people, in our churches and other faith groups and communities, some things have gone really well, such as the Homes for Ukraine scheme, where many people have found a home, their family members have joined them, people have been able to get work. This is really good!

“But why has our response to people fleeing other conflicts been different?

“The tragedy of our system lies in its exceptionalism that means people get differential treatment, usually because of their country of origin.”

He added: “We need a system that will simply provide safe and legal routes for everyone to have equal opportunities to apply for asylum and all I’m saying is I think this would be good for us as well as for the people who are fleeing unimaginable conflict and evil.”

The Archbishop added that asylum seekers should be allowed to work while awaiting a decision on their application.

He said: “When it comes to being able to work, the Church of England, alongside the Refugee Council and the Government’s own Migration Advisory Committee, is a long-standing supporter of the Lift the Ban campaign.”

He added that he also believed the current family reunification policy was too strict and that a fair asylum system would aid social cohesion.

He said: “Currently the family definition in our asylum system would not even allow someone to join their sibling even if they were the last remaining relative and being able to work and contribute is a long long way off.

“As winter arrives and it’s cold the cost-of-living crisis will inevitably affect British people’s capacity to be hospitable.

“And I want to say simply that a functioning asylum system is not a threat to our social cohesion as some fear or predict, but a dysfunctional unfair one is.”

The Archbishop concluded by alluding to the upcoming Christian holiday of Christmas and the nativity story, in which Jesus’s family were refugees themselves.

He said: “As every small child knows, Mary and Joseph came looking for somewhere to stay but there was no room at the inn… “Saying no, accusing those who are being hospitable as being naive, passing the buck, that’s the easy thing to do.

“But saying yes with a fair and equal system for everyone, now this also opens up blessings for everyone.”

Home Office minister Lord Murray of Blidworth suggested there was a difference of opinion between the two Archbishops, with the Most Reverend Justin Welby accepting there are limits to what the UK can do, and the Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell wanting to open doors to all.

He said: “It was apparent that there was a tension between the suggestion of the Archbishop of York and the Most Reverend Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury of whether we should extend our Ukrainian policies to all nationalities.

“As the Archbishop of Canterbury rightly noted, it is of course not immoral to have a limit or restrictions on migration.

“Whilst we sympathise with the many individuals who are in difficult situations around the world, the UK simply cannot help everyone who may like to come to this country.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury later quipped: “I would like to say about his comment about the Archbishop of York and the Archbishop of Canterbury disagreeing with each other – there’s nothing new about that!

“It is different from the iron discipline of the Conservative Cabinet, but we suffer what we must and the poor Archbishop of York particularly does.”