By BEN TAYLOR, Crime Correspondent
One of the Church of England's best known bishops has been mugged just yards from his front door.
The Bishop of Southwark, the Right Reverend Tom Butler, was robbed of his mobile phone, his briefcase and spectacles as he walked home from a church event.
His head was so badly bruised that he was unable to wear his bishop's mitre at an event the following day.
Bishop Butler, 66, is one of the church's leading liberal voices and is a regular contributor to Thought For The Day on Radio 4's Today programme.
The married father-of-two, who chairs the Church of England's Community and Public Affairs Council, was wearing his dog collar when he was attacked at 10.30pm on Tuesday night near his home in Streatham, South London.
The silver haired bishop was, however, unable to give police a full description of his assailant after reporting the robbery to officers and can remember little of the attack.
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Southwark said the bishop was shaken by the attack but did not want to make a fuss about his ordeal.
She said: "He's got several lumps and cuts and bruises, including a nasty cut to the back of the head. He doesn't remember anything about it. he doesn't know how many people did it or who they were. He is now back at work but cannot wear his mitre because of the injury to his head."
He returned to his duties on Wednesday and was present at the institution of a new priest at All Saints Church, West Dulwich, South London.
He began the ceremony by apologising to the 300-strong congregation at the newly-refurbished church for not wearing his mitre before giving a brief explanation for its absence. He was in meetings all day yesterday and was unavailable for comment. But it is the second time in a week that he has been the victim of crime. Last week thieves broke into his garden and stole a trampoline used by his grandchildren.
The diocese of Southwark, which stretches across swathes of London and the South East, is one of England's largest and covers 2.5 million people. It has 307 parishes, more than 40,000 regular worshippers and a strong liberal tradition.
In the past, Bishop Butler has refused to condemn homosexuality and has backed long term gay relationships. He served as the Bishop of Leicester for eight years and was dubbed the 'Blairite Bishop' when he took over in Southwark in 1998.
In 2000, he called for a cross-party debate on the issue of asylum seekers and has backed the decriminalisation of cannabis and unrestricted access to the morning-after pill.
But he has also criticised the trend towards 'designer babies' and has said that children should be brought up by married, heterosexual, parents.
Police are investigating the robbery but no arrests have been made. The bishop was mugged in Lambeth - one of London's toughest boroughs with a high street crime rate.
One of the Church of England's best known bishops has been mugged just yards from his front door.
The Bishop of Southwark, the Right Reverend Tom Butler, was robbed of his mobile phone, his briefcase and spectacles as he walked home from a church event.
His head was so badly bruised that he was unable to wear his bishop's mitre at an event the following day.
Bishop Butler, 66, is one of the church's leading liberal voices and is a regular contributor to Thought For The Day on Radio 4's Today programme.
The married father-of-two, who chairs the Church of England's Community and Public Affairs Council, was wearing his dog collar when he was attacked at 10.30pm on Tuesday night near his home in Streatham, South London.
The silver haired bishop was, however, unable to give police a full description of his assailant after reporting the robbery to officers and can remember little of the attack.
A spokeswoman for the Diocese of Southwark said the bishop was shaken by the attack but did not want to make a fuss about his ordeal.
She said: "He's got several lumps and cuts and bruises, including a nasty cut to the back of the head. He doesn't remember anything about it. he doesn't know how many people did it or who they were. He is now back at work but cannot wear his mitre because of the injury to his head."
He returned to his duties on Wednesday and was present at the institution of a new priest at All Saints Church, West Dulwich, South London.
He began the ceremony by apologising to the 300-strong congregation at the newly-refurbished church for not wearing his mitre before giving a brief explanation for its absence. He was in meetings all day yesterday and was unavailable for comment. But it is the second time in a week that he has been the victim of crime. Last week thieves broke into his garden and stole a trampoline used by his grandchildren.
The diocese of Southwark, which stretches across swathes of London and the South East, is one of England's largest and covers 2.5 million people. It has 307 parishes, more than 40,000 regular worshippers and a strong liberal tradition.
In the past, Bishop Butler has refused to condemn homosexuality and has backed long term gay relationships. He served as the Bishop of Leicester for eight years and was dubbed the 'Blairite Bishop' when he took over in Southwark in 1998.
In 2000, he called for a cross-party debate on the issue of asylum seekers and has backed the decriminalisation of cannabis and unrestricted access to the morning-after pill.
But he has also criticised the trend towards 'designer babies' and has said that children should be brought up by married, heterosexual, parents.
Police are investigating the robbery but no arrests have been made. The bishop was mugged in Lambeth - one of London's toughest boroughs with a high street crime rate.
