J’can cleric says her appointment as House of Commons Chaplain not a token

The Jamaican woman appointed Chaplain to Britain's House of Commons has said that she hates the suggestion that she was chosen because of political correctness.  

The Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin denies that the job offer is a “token”, and she is insisting that she can perform well in the high-profile role.  

The Montego Bay, St. James born woman of the cloth defended herself, following claims that she had been chosen by the Speaker to avoid having “another predictable middle-aged white man” in the job.

Mrs Hudson-Wilkin was picked by John Bercow ahead of the candidate preferred by the Rev John Hall, Dean of Westminster Abbey. 

But she said Mr. Bercow chose her simply because she is the right person for the job. 

She said Mr. Bercow looked at the estimated 100 applicants in front of him and felt she could do the job best. 

The cleric reportedly overlooked for the chaplaincy role, Canon Andrew Tremlett, is to be made a Canon at Westminster Abbey, where state occasions such as funerals and coronations take place. 

Mrs Hudson-Wilkin is vicar of Hackney, East London, and is widely tipped to become the first woman bishop. 

The Church of England expects women to be able to become bishops from 2014 onwards but Mrs. Hudson-Wilkin is scepticaI that this will happen in her lifetime.