The 2011 report looked at the Church’s handling of information about Roy Cotton, a parish priest in the Diocese of Chichester who died in 2006, and Colin Pritchard, another Anglican minister in the diocese who attended theological college with Cotton in the 1960s.

Cotton had been convicted of indecently assaulting a child in 1954 but despite this was ordained by the Church in 1966. Further allegations against him in the late 1990s did not lead to prosecution.

Pritchard, then 64, was jailed for five years in 2008 after admitting four offences of indecent assault on a male and three offences of indecency with a child.

Lady Butler-Sloss’ report made 21 recommendations to improve the way the Church and other organisations handled allegations of historic sexual abuse.

But in her correction, issued in January 2012, Lady Butler-Sloss said: “After I completed my review in May 2011, I learnt that some information which I had set out ... was incorrect. I very much regret those inaccuracies.”

She added: “I very much regret that I accepted the information I was given and did not make further inquiries.

“Having said that, I am entirely satisfied that, with the knowledge I now have ... I would not have made any changes either to my conclusions or my recommendations.”

Simon Danczuk, a Labour MP who has exposed allegations of a Westminster paedophile ring in the 1970s and 1980s, said: “This raises more concerns about the appointment of Lady Butler-Sloss.

“Whoever conducts this new inquiry must be incredibly diligent and be able to dig down into the detail of what happened, so the fact that she had to make these amendments does raise alarm bells.

“I would be interested to known whether the Home Office was aware of this flawed report into child sex abuse when they appointed Lady Butler-Sloss to lead this new inquiry.”

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society which has been working to raise awareness of clerical child abuse, said: “In her official inquiry of abuse in Chichester diocese Baroness Butler-Sloss appears to have accepted at face value some of the evidence given to her by Anglican figures.

“Given the abuse that was rife in the diocese should she not have been less inclined to accept their word than an ordinary member of the public? Or could it be that she saw less need to corroborate their evidence because of their position in Church and society?”

A voluntary sector agency which supports adults who suffered childhood sexual abuse raised concerns about Lady Butler-Sloss’ appointment.

Linda Dominguez, director One in Four, said: “We welcome the inquiry into childhood sexual abuse but would stress that survivors need to trust in the process and whoever runs this inquiry.

"If they are linked to establishment or anyone who is felt to be untrustworthy the inquiry will be seen as a sham.”

Downing Street said David Cameron, the Prime Minister, stood by the appointment of Lady Butler-Sloss after it emerged her late brother was accused of a “whitewash” over a paedophile case.

In the early 1980s, Sir Michael Havers, then attorney general, was accused of a cover-up when he refused to prosecute Sir Peter Hayman, a diplomat and member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, a lobbying organisation for child abusers.

“She commands the very highest respect for her professional expertise and integrity,” Mr Cameron’s official spokesman said.