[attach id=460817 size="medium"]Former bishop Peter Ball was jailed for abuse. Photo: PA[/attach]

A former bishop who exploited aspiring priests for his own “selfish sexual motives” has been jailed for 32 months - 22 years after the abuse first surfaced.

A member of the British Royal family was among a host of Establishment figures who supported the former bishop of Lewes when he avoided charges in 1993.

Last month, after a last ditch attempt to get his case thrown out failed, Peter Ball pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and two counts of indecent assault on young men in their teens.

The court heard how Ball had convinced some of his victims to strip naked to pray and even suggested they submit to beatings between 1977 and 1992.

Sentencing yesterday, Mr Justice Wilkie told the 83-year-old that he had misused his position to “persuade selected individuals to commit or submit to acts of physical or sexual debasement under the guise of being part of their austere regime of devotion when they were not”.

The judge said: “What you did was the antithesis of what was expected of someone holding your office.”

Following his sentence, Lord Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury at the time of the abuse, issued an apology but denied he had presided over a “cover-up”. “Allegations by some that my actions amounted to a cover-up or collusion with the abuser are wrong. I have always insisted upon the highest standards of holiness of life from all who are ordained.

“But it is undoubtedly the case that, in the years since the allegations came to light, the Church of England has needed to put into place much better procedures, as have all public institutions in society, to ensure that victims receive justice speedily and properly.

“In the past we failed many victims and allowed abusers to flourish in ministry. I hope that we are now a safer church for the young and the vulnerable.”