A former leader of the Church of England, George Carey, has announced his resignation as a priest following allegations that he did not handle the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct properly.

Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, quit following a BBC investigation that reported he allowed a priest who had been banned over sexual abuse claims to return to the priesthood.

In a resignation letter sent on December 4, the former Church letter said he had been in active ministry since 1962 and is turning 90 but failed to mention the investigation.

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The BBC reported that Carey agreed to allow a priest, David Tudor, to return to working in the church in 1994 after Tudor was suspended from ministry for five years over allegations of assault against teenage girls.

Documents suggested that Carey advocated for Tudor to get a job in a diocese, the BBC reported.

In his resignation letter, Carey said: “I wish to surrender my Permission to Officiate.

“I am in my ninetieth year now and have been in active ministry since 1962 when I was made Deacon and then Priested in 1963. It has been an honour to serve in the dioceses of London, Southwell, Durham, Bristol, Bath and Wells, Canterbury and finally Oxford.”