The Church of England is not the Tory party at prayer at all. It is the Labour cabinet in action

The Church of England used to be referred to as the Tory party at prayer, but that was before it was Oxfamed. Now it is equally inhabited by the type of Fairtrade consumer who can neither dance nor sing but will give it a go every Sunday. Not surprisingly, with that many white wristbands in the congregation, the Church's investments are subject to some robust ethical scrutiny. In the past the Church Commissioners, who control the purse strings, have made some peculiar decisions. They chose to disinvest from BSkyB, not for the obvious reason that it's no good and is owned by Rupert Murdoch, but because it hosted pornographic content.

It is understandable that pornography can upset religious sensibilities (at least it should do if it is done properly). However, while the C of E sold its porn-spattered shares, it retained its slightly bloodier ones in BAE Systems/British Aerospace. So the Church's message to the young East Timorese men facing BAE Systems equipment in the hands of the Indonesians seemed to be: "We don't really care if you get blown to bits, but we'll be damned if you play with your winky to booby pictures!" I am paraphrasing, but you get the gist. The Church subsequently sold its shares in BAE.

All of this is in the past, and on 6 February the General Synod made a refreshingly progressive stand when it voted "to disinvest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation [of Palestinian territories], such as Caterpillar Inc, until they change their policies" - thus recommending that the Church Commissioners sell off £2.2m worth of shares. Caterpillar has become a brand name associated with the Israeli military's destruction of thousands of Palestinian homes, using the company's D9 bulldozers, and with Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist who was crushed to death in March 2003.

But that is not the end of the story. Lefties, peaceniks and God-botherers may celebrate the synod vote, but the Church's shares in Caterpillar are unlikely to be flogged off. And by the word "unlikely" I mean "not". They are not going to be sold off. The Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG), which works with the Church Commissioners, said in a statement to the Jerusalem Post that the vote to disinvest was "an advisory one only". In fact, according to Neville White, secretary to the EIAG, the synod vote cannot "compel" the Church Commissioners to sell the shares. "We don't see it leading to" that, he said. The Church of England might have voted to disinvest from Caterpillar, but it isn't going to happen.

So who are the commissioners who decide the financial fate of the Church and ignore its will? I had a look at the C of E's website, where it lists the commissioners, and I didn't recognise many of the 32 names on the list, which includes archbishops, bishops, Sir this or that. There were, however, some names I knew: Tony Blair, Charlie Falconer, Charles Clarke, Tessa Jowell, Baroness Amos and Michael Martin. So the story so far is: an organisation has a democratic vote, decides its policy, and is going to be ignored by Tony Blair, Charlie Falconer, Charles Clarke, Tessa Jowell, Baroness Amos and Michael Martin. The Church of England is not the Tory party at prayer at all. It is the Labour cabinet in action.

Letting Caterpillar, Inc off the hook also makes things easier for other firms associated with the Israeli military. For example, JCB equipment - used in most motorway roadworks, and occasionally in the more creative smash-and-grab bank raids - has been photographed over the past six months in the employ of the Israeli authorities building the "separation barrier" in occupied Palestinian territory.

If JCB, or one of its dealers, was selling diggers directly to people involved in illegal activity - say, the unauthorised removal of a cashpoint machine - the company would want to know about it. Given that the International Court of Justice declared Israel's construction of the barrier illegal in 2004, you would have thought that JCB's chairman, Sir Anthony Bamford, would be grateful to anyone who brought this matter to his attention. Not so. The Birmingham MP Richard Burden wrote politely to Sir Anthony, asking if JCB had any contracts with the Israeli government and what safeguards were in place to ensure that JCB products were not used for illegal purposes. Sir Anthony replied: "Neither JCB nor its dealers have supplied machines to the Israeli government intended for military or illegal purposes." That may be so, but the Israeli government has described the barrier as part of its military/security apparatus.

I expect Sir Anthony is aware of the potential military market for JCB's products, especially given that JCB Sales Ltd is a member of the Defence Manufacturers Association. Sadly, Sir Anthony has stopped replying to Burden's further letters, as he took "great exception to the implication . . . that JCB may not be environmentally responsible or care for the community". Sir Anthony is still waiting for a "full apology" from Burden and has challenged him to a duel with flintlocks . . . Oh, all right, he didn't really.

But it is unfortunate that JCB is a privately owned company, so there are no shares for the Church Commissioners to invest in against the wishes of the synod.

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