Vatican probe criticises Newcastle bishop for 'errors of judgement' - but rejects lockdown parties as myth

The Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle resigned last year following “a succession of errors of judgement”, a Vatican investigation has found.

But the review led by Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool dismissed reports of “lewd parties” in the media as “simply untrue”.

The investigation identified four key issues which unsettled the leadership of the diocese by Bishop Robert Byrne, an Oratorian who stepped down in December almost a decade before he was due to retire, saying that the demands of his office were “too great a burden”.