Ruth Kelly, the former Education Secretary, has added her voice to calls for a notorious cap on faith-based admissions to new Catholic schools to be scrapped.

The former Labour Party MP, who served as Education Secretary under Tony Blair, said that the cap made it difficult for the Catholic Church to open potentially successful schools and that it should go.

“Catholic schools are some of the best in the country,” said Miss Kelly, a member of the Opus Dei personal prelature.

She said: “The care and quality of the teaching is recognised by parents and pupils of all faiths and none.