Sponsored by
Former Hull bishop branded 'liar and hypocrite'
THE Bishop of Liverpool is a "liar", does not like the city, and has been unhappy since being overlooked for the role of Archbishop of York, a tribunal heard yesterday.
The Rt Rev James Jones, formerly Bishop of Hull, was also more concerned with his national profile than his local ministry and helped make his public relations director feel like a "leper", the hearing was told.
The accusations were made by the Rev David Johnston, 56, who yesterday won his claim for unfair dismissal against the Church.
Mr Johnston, of Bolton, was awarded 14,534 after the bench took just 15 minutes to rule he had been fired unfairly from his job as Liverpool Diocese's director of communications.
He was sacked last year after a Sunday newspaper wrongly reported he had started an affair and left his wife for a colleague, Diane Pendleton.
He said the bishop had worked "behind the scenes" to have him dismissed and had publicly lied about offering him and Ms Pendleton support.
Mr Johnston said he told the bishop his 33-year marriage to his estranged wife Margaret was over and his relationship with Ms Pendleton did not begin until the marriage had ended.
An article about the matter, for which Mr Johnston later received an apology, appeared in the People newspaper in November 2006 and days later the bishop issued a statement to the Church Times claiming he had offered the couple advice.
But, in a March 2007 grievance meeting with his employer, the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance, Mr Johnston denied the bishop's claim and called him a liar and hypocrite, using "intemperate language".
His remarks were relayed to the bishop and, after being suspended, Mr Johnston was sacked from his 31,500-a-year post in September last year.
Mr Johnston, who is now unemployed, told the hearing: "I had made these comments confidentially in the context of my grievance and they were being taken out of context."
Email to a friend
Print this page- Three-inch blanket of snow heading our way today
- Alan Shearer in list of favourites for Leeds and England jobs: Latest odds
- Barnsley’s Keith Hill invokes Fawlty Towers over link with Leeds job
- McCormack feels United search can be narrowed down
- Redfearn throws down gauntlet as queue builds at Elland Road
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
