Nadine Dorries MP reveals she was abused as a child

Nadine Dorries, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, has revealed she was sexually abused as a child.

Ms Dorries, who grew up in Liverpool, says she was abused for two years from age eight by her local vicar Reverend James Cameron, who died in 2011.

She said she had decided to reveal the truth after writing three novels that included stories of child sexual abuse.

The Church of England said a full investigation would be carried out and it would work with the authorities.

Ms Dorries said she had never confronted her abuser and "couldn't tell anybody".

She had previously denied that her novels were based on her own experiences.

But she told Stephen Nolan on BBC Radio 5 live that she had taken the decision to reveal the truth after giving one of her characters the name of her abuser.

"They [the books] are not about child sex abuse but I did thread that vein through the three books because I wanted to get my revenge and I wanted him to see it," she said.

Ms Dorries, who appeared in ITV show I'm A Celebrity, has written three novels about life in an Irish-Catholic community in the 1950s

"I wrote his name in the third book and then a journalist told me on the day it was published that he died in 2011. So I've been writing all that, but he's already dead."

She said she had buried the events which made it gradually harder to tell anyone. She admitted she had never told the police.

"It was just my secret that I've carried around for a very long time," she said. "I've had to speak to my mum, I've had to tell my daughters. That was hard enough."

Ms Dorries said the abuse had started when her mother worked at the local church.

"That's when I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he was by my bed," she said.

"From that moment on, you just become totally different from everyone else in society. You are unlike all of your friends. You have this dirty, shameful, disgusting knowledge that no-one else has, and it's just awful."

She said finding out that Rev Cameron had died "was like someone had taken a heavy cloak off my shoulders".

"I know he'll have got his justice and I can't begin to explain what a relief it was," she said.

'No excuses'

The Church of England confirmed that Rev Cameron served in parishes in Liverpool diocese and Norwich diocese.

The Bishop of Durham, the Right Reverend Paul Butler, who is lead Bishop for safeguarding in the Church of England, said: "I want to express my deep sorrow to Nadine Dorries.

"This allegation is a reminder that any abuse which happens within the Church is a matter of deep regret and shame. There are no excuses for this.

"We will be working with statutory authorities and others in Liverpool to carry out a full investigation."

He said over the past 50 years "wide-reaching changes" had been made to safeguarding policies and procedures, but there was "no room for complacency".

A spokeswoman for the Church of England said this was the first claim the church was aware of regarding Rev Cameron, and it was also the first time Nadine Dorries has alerted the church to the allegations.

The Church of England participating in the forthcoming public enquiry chaired by Lord Justice Goddard.