Gay priest sacked for 'lurid' conduct

A Wrst End parish priest was sacked after he plied two guests with wine, made "lurid" comments and walked into their room naked.

The Rev David Gilmore, rector of St Anne's Anglican Church in Soho, was removed from office a week before Christmas after church authorities received complaints.

An ecclesiastical tribunal found him guilty of "conduct unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders".

Mr Gilmore, 40, who is gay, agreed to let two members of the Armed Forces stay at the rectory after a servicemen's gay rights conference in December 2009. The 30-year-old RAF member and a sailor aged 20, referred to as A and B, claimed Mr Gilmore plied them with wine and engaged in "lurid" conversations, including details of his sexual conquests. They told the panel he made it clear they "were not the first people he had tried to sexually lure, that he had never had a sailor before but soldiers were fun, and that he offered B to come and sleep with him in his bed".

The couple said they rebuffed his advances and went to bed together, but in the morning he walked into their room naked.

The five-strong panel banned Mr Gilmore from ministry for two years.

The Diocese of London said today it was providing pastoral and spiritual support to Mr Gilmore and ensuring he has accommodation and financial security in the short term.

Mr Gilmore did not respond to requests for an interview.