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Those convictions, handed down with the death penalty in 2009, were reversed Thursday in the court’s sweeping decision.

He also criticised the insults that the judges have received since handing down the sentence on Monday, as did Le Pen, who said any threats to magistrates were "unacceptable".

The order handed down by a Tokyo district court will strip the church of its tax-exempt status and require it to liquidate its assets, but it will still be allowed to operate in Japan.

Last September, hundreds of people gathered at a court in Shizuoka, a city on Japan's south coast, where a judge handed down the acquittal - to loud cheers of "banzai", or "hurray" in Japanese.

Reeves has committed against raising taxes or government budgets in her Spring Statement, due to be handed down next week - constrained by strict spending rules she set within the October Budget.