A BISHOP living in Aller near Langport has been jailed for abusing his power to exploit young aspiring priests for his own "selfish sexual motive" over 15 years.

Peter Ball, 83, the former bishop of Lewis and Gloucester was jailed for 32 months at the Old Bailey yesterday (October 7).

His sentence comes 22 years after the abuse first surfaced.

A member of the Royal family was among a host of establishment figures who supported the former bishop when he avoided charges in 1993.

Last month, after a last-ditch attempt to get his case thrown out failed, Ball pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault on young men in their teens.

The court heard how Ball had convinced some of his victims to strip naked to pray and even suggested they submit to beatings between 1977 and 1992.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Wilkie told the 83-year-old that he had misused his position to "persuade selected individuals to commit or submit to acts of physical or sexual debasement under the guise of being part of their austere regime of devotion when they were not".

The judge said: "What you did was the antithesis of what was expected of someone holding your office."

The sentence comes just days after the Church of Following his guilty pleas last month, the Church offered an "unreserved apology" to victims of Ball, who was Bishop of Lewes between 1977 and 1992 and Bishop of Gloucester from 1992 to 1993.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has commissioned an independent review into the way the Church of England responded to sex offence allegations against Ball.

The church's review will be published next year, and will examine its co-operation with the police, other professionals, and the extent to which it shared information.

Lawyers representing some of the abuse victims said the Church of England should no longer be allowed to police itself.

David Greenwood, head of child abuse at Switalskis Solicitors, which is representing four of Ball's victims, added: "The church should no longer be allowed to police itself and the introduction of mandatory reporting is long overdue.

"I will be advising the Goddard inquiry to recommend the establishment of an independent body to accept and investigate allegations of abuse without meddling by the country's institutions."