Lord Carey quits Church of England role after report found he 'colluded' with sex abuse bishop, by Olivia Rudgard, Telegraph (June 26, 2017)

George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned from his post in the Church of England over a report that said he was among senior figures who "colluded" with paedophile bishop Peter Ball.

Lord Carey stepped down from his role as honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Oxford after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, urged him to "consider his position".

Last Thursday, an independent report by Dame Moira Gibb found that church leaders had mishandled Ball's case by failing to offer his victims adequate support and concealing evidence of his wrongdoing.

In a statement on Monday afternoon, the Rt. Rev Dr Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford, said: “

“I have met with Lord Carey following the Archbishop’s letter to him. In light of Dame Moira Gibb’s review into the Peter Ball case, Lord Carey has resigned from his role as honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Oxford.

"Lord Carey has accepted the criticisms made of him in the Gibb review and has apologised to the victims of Peter Ball.

"Along with many others, I have been deeply distressed to read Dame Moira Gibb’s report with its narrative of the abuse perpetrated by Peter Ball which remained hidden for so long. I hope that the focus of attention will continue to be on the survivors of abuse and offering to them the care and support they need.

"As the Diocese of Oxford we are committed to improving continually the quality of safeguarding and care and will seek to learn the lessons of Dame Moira Gibb’s review and put its recommendations into practice”.

Lord Carey held the most senior role in the Church of England in 1993, when Ball's abuse of a young man, Neil Todd, initially came to light. Mr Todd killed himself in 2012.

Ball accepted a caution for gross indecency in 1993. The Gibb report found that Lord Carey was aware of six letters sent by members of the public making further allegations, but did not pass them on to police.

He also wrote a letter to Ball's twin brother, Bishop Michael Ball, following Ball's caution, saying he believed he was "basically innocent".

Ball was convicted of misconduct in public office and indecent assault in 2015 after he admitted sexually abusing boys and young men. He was released from prison in February this year.

Lord Carey earlier said in a statement last Thursday: “I accept the criticisms made of me. I apologise to the victims of Peter Ball.

"I believed Peter Ball’s protestations and gave too little credence to the vulnerable young men and boys behind those allegations. I regret that after Peter Ball was cautioned I did not place his name on the Lambeth list.”