The Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, will be named today as the next head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Archbishop Nichols, 63, an orthodox bishop who has become more conservative over the past few years, will succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster soon after Easter.

He was chosen personally by Pope Benedict XVI after he returned from his recent trip to Africa when the Congregation for Bishops failed to agree on a successor to the Cardinal, who will be the first Archbishop of Westminster not to die in office.

For the rest of Ruth Gledhill's scoop, click here. For a first reaction from Damian Thompson, click here.