A SENIOR figure in the Church of England has resigned from his role in the Diocese of Oxford following a sex abuse scandal which took place while he was Archbishop.

Lord George Carey was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of abuses carried out by former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester Peter Ball between the 1970s and 1990s.

Ball, now 85, was jailed for 32 months in October 2015 after admitting sex offences against 18 teenagers and young men.

Lord Carey has now stepped down from his role as an honorary assistant bishop at the Diocese of Oxford following critisism of his handling of the case.

A newly-published independent review found that Lord Carey received seven letters from families and individuals following the arrest and cautioning of Ball in 1992 for gross indecency, but failed to pass six of them to the police.

He chose not to put Ball on the Church of England's 'Lambeth List', which names clergymen about whom questions of suitability for ministry have been raised, and also gave Ball funds to support him.

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.”

Lord Carey said in a statement released on 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.”