PRESSURE on Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has increased after revelations that a priest at the centre of a sexual abuse case was twice reappointed under him while he was serving as bishop of Chelmsford.

Mr Cottrell admitted things “could have been handled differently” as the crisis at the very top of the Church of England deepened.

He will become the Church’s most senior figure when Justin Welby steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury in January following criticism of his own handling of an abuse case.