Bishop of Gloucester Questioned by Police over Indecent Assault Allegations
By Edward Malnick, and Keith Perry
A senior bishop has been questioned by police on suspicion of indecently assaulting a woman and a girl - days after suddenly stepping down from his post. The Rt Rev Michael Perham, 66, was due to retire in November after almost a decade as Bishop of Gloucester but withdrew from his role last weekend citing "personal reasons". On Tuesday Scotland Yard confirmed that Bishop Perham attended a police station in Gloucestershire to be interviewed over allegations dating from 1980 and 1981. The investigation is into an alleged indecent assault of a child aged under 18 and indecent assault of a second female aged over 18. A police spokesman said: "A 66-year-old man today attended a police station in Gloucestershire by appointment and was interviewed on suspicion of indecent assault of a child aged under 18 and indecent assault of a second female aged over 18. "He was not arrested. The alleged incidents are said to have occurred between 1980 and 1981 and are being investigated by officers from the Metropolitan Police Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command. Inquiries continue." Around the time of the alleged assaults he was a curate at St Mary’s Addington in Croydon, south London. He worked at the church from 1976 to 1981. Bishop Perham, who was a member of the 16-strong panel which selected the Most Rev Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury last year, stood down at the weekend. In a statement on Saturday, the Diocese of Gloucester simply said he had "stepped back" from his ministry due to "personal reasons" and did not elaborate further. Bishop Perham is married and has four grown-up daughters. He served in six full time posts in the Church of England before taking up the post of Bishop of Gloucester in 2004. He served on the Church’s liturgical commission for 19 years until 2001, becoming one of the “principal architects” of its Common Worship services. He sits in the Lords as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual. There has been widespread speculation that he might be replaced by the country's first woman bishop. He has been an outspoken advocate of woman being allowed to enter the episcopate. A special service was due to take place on November 8 to celebrate his time as Bishop of Gloucester. However, church officials have said they “did not know” whether this was still going ahead or not. Lambeth Palace, the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, has refused to comment on Bishop Perham’s early departure. On Tuesday afternoon a spokesman for the Diocese of Gloucester said: "This is a police matter. We have no further comment to make." The Rt Rev Martyn Snow, the Bishop of Tewkesbury, is performing his duties in Bishop Perham's absence. St Mary's is in the Diocese of Southwark. On Tuesday evening a spokesman for the diocese said it takes "safeguarding very seriously." The spokesman added that the diocese and parish were cooperating with police enquiries and "it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
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