The Archbishop of Canterbury should not feel down about his lack of Twitter followers compared to the Pope and Dalai Lama, peers have heard.

The Most Rev Justin Welby has more than 60,700 followers on the social network while the Pope has more than 4.27 million and the Dalai Lama can boast almost 9.15 million.

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, who co-founded online travel company lastminute.com, told the Lords she hoped Archbishop Welby was not "dispirited" with his Twitter following.

Speaking in a debate about the importance of freedom of belief and religion, Lady Lane-Fox added: "It is always better to err on the side of freedom of speech, tread lightly."

Lady Lane-Fox said people must be prosecuted if they fall foul of international law, adding: "But I would hate to see a world where expressing religious views in the digital sphere that some people find unacceptable might lead to a knock on your physical door."