[Hmm, I'm beginning to think it's the Irish, not the Russians, who are behind some of these incidents. Here's yet another "poisoning":]
The strange case of the bishop and the black eye
By Stephen Bates Monday December 11, 2006 The Guardian
It is a question which might baffle the greatest minds in detective fiction, Father Brown, say, or Brother Cadfael: what happened to the Bishop of Southwark last Tuesday night? Was he mugged on the way home to Tooting from a pre-Christmas party at the Irish embassy? Or was he found wandering in a confused state in Crucifix Lane, near his cathedral, having supped not wisely, but too well?
The Rt Rev Tom Butler, 66, one of the Church of England's most senior bishops and a pillar of Thought for the Day on the BBC Today programme, says he has no idea. Others say he was seen sitting in the back of a Mercedes chucking children's toys out of the window and announcing: "I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do."
Last night the bishop - who earlier in the week told a congregation that he could not get his mitre on because of the lump on his head - told the Guardian he could not recollect what had happened. Police were informed the following day that his briefcase, spectacles, a mobile phone and papers were missing.
"The problem is, I don't remember anything. This has been a difficulty from the start," he said ruefully. "I told the police I arrived home without my briefcase and with bruising on my face and a gash on the back of my head. There was this story about me being in a car at London Bridge, which I can remember absolutely nothing about. I thought I was travelling home on public transport. I went to the doctor the next day and was told my injuries were consistent with a blow to the head, so I assumed I had been mugged, but that's a supposition. I am hoping the police will be able to be clearer."
What he can remember is attending the pre-Christmas reception at the Irish embassy near Buckingham Palace. These are events not noted for their abstemiousness. MPs have been known to leave on their hands and knees.
"I can remember the reception. It was one of those pre-Christmas receptions with drinks and nibbles, with interesting conversations and interesting people. I had a drink," said the bishop, with what may or may not be a degree of understatement. "There lies the difficulty. I am not in a position to say dogmatically anything more about it. I have no memory of what happened. I came home certainly with an injury and with a loss of property."
Some witnesses say, however, that a man who looked like the bishop was seen getting into the back of an unlocked Mercedes several miles away, south of the river near the cathedral, and some way off his direct route home.
Paul Sumpter, the car's owner, was playing pool in a nearby bar when the car's alarm went off and he and a number of other customers went out to investigate. They say they found a white-haired man wearing a cassock under a black cloak, sitting in the rear seat.
Mr Sumpter apparently said: "Oi, what are you doing in my car?" before two men pulled the occupant out and he fell on the pavement. An ambulance was called, but the person declined medical attention and wandered off.
Mr Sumpter, who has been interviewed by the police and whose car has been dusted for forensic evidence, told the Sunday Times: "I initially thought he was breaking into my car. He had a big lump over his eye. He fell over and banged his head on the pavement."
Paul Sathaporn, a barman, added: "The car owner said to me: 'Do you believe he was a bishop?' I said, 'Yes, he looked respectable and had on a smart black coat'."
Bishop Butler has been a member of the episcopate for 21 years and at Southwark for more than eight years. The cathedral's dean, the Very Rev Colin Slee, said last night: "This would be utterly out of character. This is a serious guy. Lots of things in the story don't add up." One such thing may be how the bishop's briefcase appears to have turned up in the office of a tabloid newspaper before being handed to the police.
Whatever happened, the incident is sure to dismay church liberals and may induce glee among some evangelicals, because the bishop has been a doughty and outspoken sympathiser with the plight of gay people in the Church of England, especially Dr Jeffrey John, a former canon of Southwark, who was forced to stand down from his appointment as suffragan bishop of Reading by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, three years ago, after protests from evangelicals because he is gay.
Bishop Butler was categorical about one thing last night: "I certainly don't intend to resign," he told the Guardian.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1969258,00.html>
Carl
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