The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has withdrawn an award given to Islamic cleric Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi following revelations about past comments in which he praised Osama Bin Laden.

The honour had been presented to Mr Ashrafi last Friday by Dame Sarah Mullally. A caption accompanying a photograph of the presentation stated that he was being recognised for his "outstanding work as an ambassador of interfaith harmony in Pakistan".

However, scrutiny quickly turned to remarks dating back to 2007. At the time, as head of the Pakistan Ulema Council group of Islamic clerics and scholars, Mr Ashrafi gave the 9/11 mastermind the title of "Saifullah" for "serving Muslims by waging jihad against infidels".

Lambeth Palace initially stated earlier today that it was "urgently reviewing" the honour, before deciding to withdraw it entirely.

In an official statement, Lambeth Palace said: "Previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn."

The Palace also explained the original justification for the honour, noting it was presented for "Imam Ashrafi’s longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community – support that is valued by many Christians in Pakistan including its Anglican Church." The institution maintained that engaging across deeply-held differences remains a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue.

Responding to the move, a spokesman for Mr Ashrafi insisted the cleric's historical remarks were being presented "without their proper context". The comments were made during demonstrations in Pakistan regarding the UK knighthood awarded to Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.

Mr Ashrafi stated he was merely "giving an example" at the time to illustrate the scale of offence felt by the Muslim community over the honour given to Salman Rushdie, and said the title had not actually been conferred upon Bin Laden. His spokesman added: "His comparison was not an endorsement of Bin Laden. It was made in the context of explaining the hurt felt by many Muslims over the British honour given to Salman Rushdie. His longstanding record against terrorism and violent extremism should be considered when assessing such remarks."

The award had sparked strong criticism prior to its cancellation. The National Secular Society initially condemned the presentation, describing it as "obscene, and almost beyond parody".

Following the revocation, National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans welcomed the reversal but criticised Church leadership: "We welcome the withdrawal of this award, but it is astonishing that it was given in the first place – on the anniversary of 9/11, no less. This episode reveals not only appallingly poor judgement and inadequate due diligence, but a dangerous naivety about the religious figures legitimised through interfaith engagement." Mr Evans added that the Church of England should be disestablished.

What we don't know yet is how the cleric's historical comments were handled during the initial vetting process before the presentation took place. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.