David Tudor’s elevation to honorary canon is something Stephen Cottrell “regrets”, says his office, but it was “not a promotion and not a personal reward”.

“It happened because of a change in Church policy during the bishop’s time in office, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.”

But that is “ludicrous” says Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley and “simply not good enough”.

“You are absolutely uplifting somebody’s ministry as an example and a model of good and best practice, and you’re celebrating that actually by making them an honorary canon.”

Rt Rev Hartley has been a lone voice in the upper echelons of the Church of England, criticising the institution’s failure to deal with abuse and to listen to victims. Last month, she became the only senior serving cleric to call for Justin Welby to step down.

Now, she says, Stephen Cottrell should follow.

The BBC’s investigation into the David Tudor case also reveals roles played by others at the very top of the Church of England over several decades – including former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey.

Debbie (not her real name) says between the ages of 13 and 15 she was sexually abused by Tudor when he was a vicar and school chaplain in Redhill, Surrey. She was one of the three girls in his second trial in 1988. Tudor was found guilty, but the conviction was later quashed.

It has had “a huge effect” on Debbie’s life, she says, leaving her with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which she says has been made worse by the Church’s handling of the case since.

“It’s absolutely disgusting that they supported him, that they welcomed him back into the Church,” she says.

Tudor’s return to the priesthood was assisted by then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.

In 1993, the archbishop – now Lord Carey – agreed that Tudor could come back under supervision the following year. This was done “with some trepidation”, the Church of England told the BBC.

Leaked documents seen by File on 4 Investigates also show that Lord Carey agreed, in 1996, to remove the priest’s name from a centrally-held record of clergy who had been subject to disciplinary proceedings.