Disgraced Langport bishop tried to make deal with police to avoid scandal, documents claim, Western Gazette (February 23, 2016)

Disgraced Langport bishop tried to make deal with police to avoid scandal, documents claim

A BISHOP from the Langport area convicted of sex offences attempted to make a deal with police to avoid a scandal, it has been claimed.

Bishop Peter Ball, formerly of Aller, was sentenced to 32 months' imprisonment in October, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and one count of misconduct in a public office between 1977 and 1992.

Now documents have come to light which suggest that Ball's defence team, which included a priest, sought to broker a deal with the police to avoid the "scandal of a trial".

The documents in question, which were seen by the BBC, were intended only for the eyes of the late Eric Kemp, former bishop of Chichester, and Lord George Carey, then-Archbishop of Canterbury.

They state that Ball had been "abusing not only his office but very many young men", and that retired detective Wayne Murdock had discussed with Ball's legal team "the need to prevent a scandal in the press" owing to Ball's friendship with Prince Charles and his frequent visits to Sandringham.

Mr Murdock has denied that any such deal was done, stating that the decision not to prosecute Ball in 1993 lay with the Director of Public Prosecutions, and that his investigation was "conducted with the highest standards of integrity, transparency and impartiality."

Ball, 83, was Bishop of Lewes between 1977 and 1992, and subsequently served as Bishop of Gloucester between 1992 and 1993.

In 1993 he accepted a police caution for a single allegation of gross indecency and resigned - but was given permission to officiate in the Langport area between 1997 and 2010.

The Reverend Graham Sawyer, who was abused by Ball, told the BBC: "It looks like there was a deeply sinister, coordinated, but probably in the end rather inept attempt at a cover-up."

Cliff James, another of his victims, said: "I think it is shocking. It's really disturbing how it appears senior establishment figures clustered together to shield Bishop Peter."

Lord Carey has declined to comment on the documents, adding that he would answer questions put to him by both the Goddard Inquiry into child sex abuse and the Church's own review into Ball's abuse.

Anyone affected can contact the Church of England's Safeguarding team on 01749 685135 or visit www.bathandwells.org.uk/diocese/safeguarding.