{"id":438414,"date":"2026-02-21T19:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/438414\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T19:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T19:18:11","slug":"bishop-of-lincoln-arrested-on-suspicion-of-sexual-assault-and-suspended-from-church-duties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/438414\/","title":{"rendered":"Bishop of Lincoln arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and suspended from church duties"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Stephen Conway, has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. <\/p>\n

Lincolnshire Police confirmed the detention of a 68-year-old man is part of an \u201congoing investigation following an allegation that a man was sexually assaulted between 2018 and 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Church of England announced Reverend Conway’s suspension from ministry whilst a safeguarding complaint undergoes investigation in accordance with the House of Bishops Code of Practice. <\/p>\n

Bishop Conway has since been released on bail. <\/p>\n

A statement published on the Diocese of Lincoln website confirmed the suspension, noting that the complaint had been lodged with the Church of England’s national safeguarding team. <\/p>\n

The diocese acknowledged the situation would prove “deeply unsettling” for many and confirmed that assistance was being provided to those affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Rev Stephen Conway, has been suspended from ministry while a complaint made to the National Safeguarding Team is responded to according to the House of Bishops Code of Practice,\u201d the notice read. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes referral to the appropriate statutory authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lincoln<\/p>\n

Lincolnshire Police confirmed the detention of a 68-year-old man is part of an ‘ongoing investigation following an allegation that a man was sexually assaulted between 2018 and 2025’<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The diocese continued: \u201cSupport is in place for those affected, and there will be no further comment while the process is ongoing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand that this will be a deeply unsettling time. The Diocesan Safeguarding Team is available for anyone who wishes to contact them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Specific details regarding the nature of the complaint have not been disclosed. <\/p>\n

The diocese indicated there would be no additional comment whilst the process continues. <\/p>\n

\"Lincoln<\/p>\n

His diocese acknowledged the situation would prove “deeply unsettling” for many and confirmed that assistance was being provided to those affected<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The Right Reverend Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, Bishop of Grantham, will assume responsibility for diocesan affairs throughout the suspension period.<\/p>\n

Bishop Conway took up his position as Bishop of Lincoln in 2023, having previously held the roles of Bishop of Ramsbury and Bishop of Ely. <\/p>\n

He has sat in the House of Lords since 2014.<\/p>\n

The investigation remains ongoing, with police continuing their enquiries into the allegations spanning a seven-year period.<\/p>\n

No further information regarding the circumstances of the alleged offence has been released by authorities.<\/p>\n

GB News has approached Bishop Conway for comment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Stephen Conway, has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. Lincolnshire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[35884,55697,59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-438414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-across-the-uk","9":"tag-east-midlands","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-greatbritain","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}