Welsh secretary Stephen Crabb said UK would have higher debt if government had listened to economic and social policy advice of the church

One of David Cameron’s cabinet ministers has dismissed Church of England’s pleas for the UK to take in more refugees, suggesting bishops are naturally politically opposed to a Conservative government.

In comments that may inflame the row between Downing Street and bishops, Stephen Crabb, the Welsh secretary, said on Sunday that the UK would probably have higher debt if the government had listened to the economic and social policy advice of the church.

Crabb hit back after the group of religious leaders accused David Cameron of ignoring their offers to help to provide housing, foster care and other support for up to 50,000 refugees.

Bishops in stinging rebuke to David Cameron over refugee crisis Read more

The bishops gave to the Observer a private letter they sent to the prime minister in early September calling on him to increase the number of refugees that the UK is prepared to take over the next five years from 20,000 to 50,000.

The letter asks him to consider involving the church in a national effort to “mobilise the nation as in times past” – an offer that has not been taken up.

Speaking on Sky News’s Murnaghan programme, Crabb dismissed their intervention, saying: “Church of England bishops criticising the Conservative governments isn’t really news.

“On this specific issue I would say to them, four years ago we were out there in Syria as a government, spending taxpayers money, investing in camps providing clean water, shelter, security to those refugees, those families fleeing war.

“Our response has been one of compassion; we have been at the coalface there for the last four years, long before the bishops started taking a campaigning interest in this issue.”

When asked whether he believed bishops were too leftwing, Crabb said: “Well, if you go back decades now and if we had listened to the bishops and all of their prescriptions for economic and social policy we would probably have debt a lot higher.”

The government has defended its decision to admit only 5,000 Syrian refugees a year, saying it wants to concentrate its efforts on helping refugees at camps in the region.

Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, said: “No country is Europe is doing more in Syria than we are. We’re spending a £1bn helping refugees in refugee camps and now we’ve announced we’ll take 5,000 a year for the rest of this parliament which is a number we think we can reasonably accommodate.

“The message to the bishops is no one is doing more than we are to help the refugees in their camps.”

He also said the “worrying” threat of clashes with Russia should not prevent Britain from joining airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria.

Yvette Cooper MP, who chairs Labour’s refugee taskforce, said the bishops were right that the public were “ready to do more to help those fleeing conflict, violence and persecution”.

She continued: “We know thousands of people have signed petitions, donated clothes, food and tents and even offered space in their own homes. As this letter makes clear, leaders of all faith groups are united in the call that we can – and must – do more.

“The government’s commitment to take just 4,000 refugees this year is not good enough. Over 3,000 people are arriving on the Greek island of Lesvos each day. If every city and county took 10 refugee families, that would help 10,000 refugees this year alone.

“This is not asking a huge amount of our government. Simply to fulfil our duty in the worst humanitarian crisis since the second world war.”