The former Bishop of Chester is alleged to have committed the crimes from 1974 to 1982. He was bishop during this time until his retirement in 1981.

Assistant Chief Constable at Cheshire Police Nick Bailey said today: 'Following a thorough investigation and taking into account all of the information available, it has been established that, if Bishop Whitsey were alive today, as part of the investigation process he would have been spoken to by police.

But now the grown men who were victims of the abuse as boys are coming forward to challenge the archbishop's version of events, casting doubt on his claims of ignorance.

The archbishop, 61, was working abroad in 1982, when an internal investigation by an influential Christian charity supported allegations of sadistic practices by John Smyth, a prominent lawyer and evangelical leader who ran the camps.

Bishop Bell the wartime Bishop of Chichester who died in 1958, was praised for speaking out against Hitler in the 1930s -- and he was granted the Anglican equivalent of a Saint's Day, an annual commemoration.

But to the fury of devotees, his character was blackened when the Church declared two years ago that 'on the balance of probabilities' he had sexually assaulted a child in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Of course you will not remember. But I still pray for you. And indeed just yesterday your name came up on my PrayerMate phone app and so I did mention you in my prayers. But I must admit I did so feeling heart-broken.