The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said he and his wife felt pressure from doctors to have an abortion 32 years ago when health concerns were raised about their unborn child.

The couple proceeded with the pregnancy anyway and had a “precious” daughter named Ellie.

She has dyspraxia, a neurological condition that affects movement and coordination, but is not severely disabled.

He did not say whether they ever went ahead with the test.

“She lives with us at Lambeth. Before she was born, during the pregnancy, there was some concern and a test was offered. But it was made very, very clear to my wife [Caroline] that if the test was taken and proved positive, it would be expected that we asked for a termination. It was not a neutral process.”

He said that doctors told them it was “expensive” to raise a child with a disability.

Archbishop Welby added: “Ellie is exceptionally precious. She is precious because she is wonderful, she’s kind, she is someone who gets cross and is happy and is sad. She is not that severely disabled — she can travel around provided things go right. If trains get cancelled, that’s a bit of an emergency.”