Leigh-on-Sea vicar falsely accused of affair can keep job at church

The Rev William Bulloch's appeal was heard at the Court of Arches at St Mary-le-Bow

A Church of England vicar dismissed after he was falsely accused of having an affair and getting a woman pregnant will keep his job after an appeal.

The Rev William Bulloch was dismissed from St James the Great in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, at a tribunal last year.

The misconduct hearing found he failed to refer the woman to the safeguarding team and swore at her.

But a judgement following an appeal at the Court of Arches of Canterbury said he would now only face a rebuke.

The Church of England court, based in St Mary-le-Bow, London, published its judgement last week in which it said the original punishment was "excessive".

Mr Bulloch will also have to undergo a series of training course over the next six months including anger management.

'Abusive and threatening'

The ecclesiastical court heard the woman referred to as "AB" first met Mr Bulloch in August 2015, and a "pastoral relationship" developed which also included Mr Bulloch's wife and family.

AB began to give the family presents which Mrs Bulloch said was "uncomfortable….too generous or too strange… one such gift was a whole pig's head".

During 2016 and 2017 AB appeared to became very unwell and later said she was terminally ill.

But in January 2017 Mrs Bulloch was visiting the outpatients department of the local hospital when she saw AB walking normally.

The Rev William Bulloch has now has had his dismissal from St James the Great in Leigh-on-Sea overturned

Mr Bulloch confronted AB about the incident, but her response was "hysterical" and in February 2017 Mr Bulloch told AB he could no longer be in contact with her.

AB then contacted Mr Bullock in an "abusive and threatening" way.

'Extremely naive'

She alleged he had sexual relations with her and she was pregnant, but she then later claimed she had had an abortion.

In April 2017, AB turned up at the church with an urn, labelled to suggest that it contained the remains of the baby.

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The woman also made secret recordings of their telephone and face-to-face conversations.

In one conversation Mr Bulloch swore 28 times and in another 13 times.

Although his tribunal last year established Mr Bulloch had not had an affair with the woman, it said he "acted extremely naively".

It said his work as a priest in the parish had been "fundamentally undermined" by his misconduct.