The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion has refuted a newspaper report that the church plans to appoint a 'presidential' figure to take over some of the global role of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"The opening paragraph of this article (in the London Daily Telegraph) is mischievous," Canon Kenneth Kearon said.

"There are no such plans. The Archbishop of Canterbury simply said in the interview that he could see that in the future there might be some reflection on how the administrative load associated with the Anglican Communion might be better shared.

"The Anglican Communion has several decision-making bodies, one of which is meeting in a few months' time. Nothing like what this newspaper has suggested is on the agenda."

Meanwhile, news media around the world have picked up on the Telegraph interview, in which Dr Rowan Williams reportedly acknowledged that he had struggled to balance the growing demands of the job at home and abroad and admitted he had “disappointed” both liberals and conservatives.

According to the Telegraph, he also said that the church had been “wrong” in its treatment of homosexuals in the past. But he reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage.

He also reportedly acknowledged that his handling of the controversy over Islamic sharia law in Britain had caused “confusion” but said he stood by his central views.