Remainers must stop 'whingeing' about Brexit and accept the verdict of the referendum, says Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

• Archbishop of Canterbury said Remainers should not 'whinge' about Brexit vote
• Justin Welby voted Remain but insisted he was democrat and didn't want re-run
• Archbishop has been asked to chair forum on finding ways to unite the country 

Remainers must stop 'whingeing' and accept the verdict of the referendum, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

Justin Welby said he was a 'democrat' and the focus should be on reuniting the country rather than reversing the outcome of the vote.  

The comments by the Archbishop - who voted Remain in 2016 - emerged after he confirmed he is in talks to chair a 'citizen's forum' on Brexit.

He has been approached by a cross-party group of senior MPs, including Labour's Yvette Cooper and Conservative Dame Caroline Spelman.

The forum could see members of the public with differing views on Brexit discussing the way forward.  

However, Brexiteers warned that Mr Welby was being 'tempted into what is essentially a very political issue'. 

The Archbishop has insisted that any forum should not be a 'Trojan Horse' for cancelling Brexit. 

In remarks reported by the Church Times and made before the discussions on the forum became public, he said he did not support calls for a so-called 'People's Vote' re-running the 2016 referendum.

'We have to take seriously the fact that the majority voted Leave,' he said. 

'We may not like it, but that is democracy; and that means we have to stop whingeing about it, and do something about reuniting the country.' 

Addressing the Greenbelt faith and arts festival last weekend, he said the Church of England could help ease Brexit tensions. 

'The Church is one of those institutions that can do that,' he added.  

Boris Johnson is bracing for a titanic battle in Parliament this week with Remainers trying to thwart his Brexit plans. 

Opponents of No Deal will try to seize control of the Commons agenda to push through legislation that would force the PM to seek a Brexit extension from Brussels beyond October 31.  

As Downing Street ratcheted-up the rhetoric, ministers branded the plot 'deceitful and underhand'.

Tory heavyweights like ex-chancellor Philip Hammond reacted angrily to claims Conservative MPs voting against a no-deal option when parliament returns this week could be barred from standing in a snap general election. 

Mr Johnson told the Sunday Times: 'I just say to everybody in the country, including everyone in parliament, the fundamental choice is this: are you going to side with Jeremy Corbyn and those who want to cancel the referendum?

'Are you going to side with those who want to scrub the democratic verdict of the people - and plunge this country into chaos.'