New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that he has some Jewish ancestry.

In an interview in today’s Church Times, he revealed that there was a “Jewish element” in the family.

His mother Naomi was a Bible-reading agnostic “brought up in a religious environment and her brother was a vicar, and there was quite a lot of clergy in her family,” he said.

“Going back a lot further, there is a Jewish element in the family, probably from Germany.”

His father was a church-going Christian.

Mr Corbyn said that he himself was “not anti-religious at all” and probably went to more religious services than most strong believers.

“I go to churches, I go to mosques, I go to synagogues,” he said. “I find the power of faith very interesting.

“I have friends who are very strongly atheist and wouldn’t have anything to do with any faith; but I take a much more relaxed view of it. I think the faith community offers and does a great deal for people.”