THE Archbishop of Canterbury delivered his Easter sermon in the Cathedral on Sunday without incident despite a threat from Fathers 4 Justice campaigners.

Members of the group, which demands equal rights for fathers, had threatened to disrupt the service but in the end the day passed peacefully.

A major security operation was mounted and Special Branch officers joined a larger police force around the Cathedral and inside the building as hundreds gathered for the service and strolled around the grounds.

Those entering with bags were also subjected to a search by officers.

Darren Ash, Kent co-ordinator of Fathers 4 Justice, had earlier said that the Cathedral was a possible target for disruption over Easter.

The Dean of Canterbury, the Very Rev Robert Willis, attempted to diffuse any tension with a joke that people should “do as you were told in school and sit down and talk among yourselves” in the event of any disruption.

Speaking to a packed Cathedral congregation, the Archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, said people had a duty to open up to reconciliation and “hear the other side” in disputes.

He said the human form of God’s grace and love – Jesus – would never be destroyed and that the Easter story shows “all human beings are implicated in something bad".

Jesus’s death and resurrection was a sign of how conflicts can be overcome, said Dr Williams.