By Robert Mendick
This is London
July 10, 2008
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-mayor/article-23514672-details/Mayor's+aide:+new+sex+claim/article.do
Disgraced former deputy mayor Ray Lewis is facing a new accusation of sexual misconduct, the Evening Standard can reveal.
A woman has come forward to make allegations of improper behaviour against Mr Lewis during his time as a clergyman.
The Church of England is, meanwhile, planning a fresh investigation into previous claims against Mr Lewis, who denies all the allegations.
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| New claim: Ray Lewis |
A senior Church source has told the Standard a dossier containing details of sexual and financial allegations against Mr Lewis, who was banned from ministry by two bishops, could now be made public as part of an independent inquiry to be chaired by a QC or judge.
The source told the Standard the new claim of sexual misconduct was made against Mr Lewis in the wake of his resignation on Friday after the Standard revealed he had misleadingly claimed he was a magistrate.
Details of the first allegation of sexual misconduct contained in the Church dossier were also revealed today. It is alleged that Mr Lewis attempted to have sex with a parishioner he had taken to a conference in the Nineties during his stint as a parish priest in West Ham. He allegedly cornered her in a hotel bedroom and then became abusive when she refused to take her clothes off. The woman is said to have been shocked and frightened by the incident and to have made a complaint to the Church.
Police have never been asked to investigate the claim, which Mr Lewis has always denied.
He was arrested by police on suspicion of deception but no criminal charges have ever been brought against him. Friends of Mr Lewis have expressed their concern that the Church has ruined his political career without proving any of the allegations against him in an open court.
One senior Tory accused the Church of being "reckless" over suggestions Mr Johnson had been warned by the Bishop of Barking about Mr Lewis's behaviour while a parish priest at St Matthew's Church in West Ham between 1993 and 1997.
But today the Church hit back at the claims. The Reverend Chris Newlands, chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, who oversees the Barking diocese, told the Standard: "The Church of England does have its own law which ranks alongside civil law and military law in England. We do have processes which are thorough and have legal weight. It [the original investigation] was done thoroughly and effectively and we will consider whether we should mount our own formal inquiry into this. We need to assess whether our handling [of the allegations] at this stage has been correct and if we need to make a further statement than we have already. We believe we have done everything by the book.
"There was plenty we had to go on. This is never taken lightly. This [decision to bar a priest] is only [taken] when there is a very substantial weight of evidence."
A City Hall source said Mr Lewis had vehemently denied the claims in the Church dossier.
The source added: "One of the accusations the Church has in the dossier is he took some woman from the parish on a conference and booked one room and one bed and that was a surprise to her. When she then told him she was not 'up for it' he got abusive. He later went around the parish, calling her a whore and undermining her. My understanding is there was no allegation of indecent assault or rape. The Church didn't call in the police."
It is understood that when the allegations surfaced last week, Mr Lewis had a meeting at City Hall with the Mayor's senior officials. On the allegation of sexual misconduct, Mr Lewis called in Anne Collard, a former parishioner with whom he now works, to back up his claim that the woman had made up her story.
Ms Collard told officials in taped interviews that she too was at the conference and had shared a room with the woman and that Mr Lewis had booked his own room. Nothing untoward had occurred, she told officials.
Mr Lewis was unavailable for comment. One source close to him told the Standard: "He is staying out of the limelight. The reality is he doesn't want to say anything about anything."
Neither alleged victim has ever gone to the police. The Church said it would hand its files over only if police requested them. Scotland Yard said it would not investigate unless asked to do so by the Church or the alleged victims.
Mr Lewis remains director of the Eastside Young Leaders' Academy, a highly praised company and charity he founded which encourages young black boys to become society role models. It is understood EYLA is standing by Mr Lewis unless devastating evidence comes to light.
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