Anglican  Vicar suspended over affair with parishioner*

By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:05am GMT 24/11/2007

An Anglican vicar has been removed from his parish and suspended as a
priest for four years after having an affair with a married parishioner
in the first case of a clergy member facing a Church of England
disciplinary tribunal.

A Church tribunal ruled that the Rev David King, the vicar of Middle Esk
Moor near Whitby, north Yorkshire, was guilty of conduct "unbecoming a
clerk in holy orders".

Mr King, a father of three, was found by the tribunal to have had an
inappropriate physical relationship "short of sexual intercourse" with
Tracy Byrne, a local businesswoman and mother of four.

Mrs Byrne's former husband James, who was married for 20 years until his
divorce in late 2005, claimed that the vicar's affair with his
44-year-old wife, who runs a private care home, had shattered any chance
of saving their troubled marriage.

He said that he had seen the couple "kissing and canoodling" on a sofa
in early 2004, and he produced an intimate letter and birthday card the
vicar had sent his wife.

The picture on the card showed a naked male pin-up with the words: "With
very massive love to you today and every day. Dave xxxxxx. Am v. cross
they used my photo without permission." The letter included the line: "I
can look at the moon, I can look at Tracy, I can't touch the moon, and
sometimes I can hardly believe I can touch Tracy."

Mr King, 54, who is now divorced from his wife, a primary school head
teacher, denied any impropriety.

He said that his relationship with Mrs Byrne, whom he had known since
2001, had remained a professional one, although he admitted he had, from
time to time, "acted foolishly".

He conceded that after his marriage broke up, they had become like
boyfriend and girlfriend and had occasionally held hands and kissed, but
he insisted that they were not sexually intimate.

The tribunal, which heard the case at Leeds Crown Court in October, has
said in its judgment that it found Mr King's refusal to acknowledge that
his behaviour was inappropriate "very disquieting".

The Bishop of Whitby, the Rt Rev Robert Ladds, said: "The Church of
England expects the highest standards from its clergy in their
professional and personal lives.

"The tribunal's decision makes unhappy reading for parishioners, for
those directly affected by Mr King's conduct and for Mr King himself."