Boris’s deputy Ray Lewis faces inquiry

Trouble for London mayor Boris Johnson. Ray Lewis, his deputy mayor for young people, has been accused of unspecified sexual harassment and financial irregularities, misdemeanours that relate to his time as a Church of England vicar in the 1990s. The allegations were made yesterday on Channel 4 News, which revealed that Lewis had been banned from working as a priest nine years ago.

While the report was vague about Lewis’s alleged sexual misconduct, it was more specific about money, claiming that one parishioner, Mary Massey, had entrusted nearly £30,000 to Lewis, which was only repaid when the police became involved. It also revealed that a man with learning difficulties gave him £8,000 and was never paid back.

Yesterday the church confirmed Lewis had been placed on a register banning him from working as a priest in England because "things had been alleged against him". The Rev Chris Newland, chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, refused to detail the nature of the claims but said the grounds for a ban were generally down to allegations of serious misconduct or doctrinal disagreement.

Meanwhile, Lewis denies all the claims, and says that he was unaware that he had been suspended from the church. He said: "Those that know me well know that I'm not a saint. I'm also not the person painted by these allegations. I have never harassed anyone, I have never defrauded anyone." Innocent or not, Boris Johnson has launched an independent inquiry into the matter.