George Carey, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, resigned as a priest in December after media reports that he allowed the Rev. David Tudor, who had been banned over sexual abuse claims, to return to the priesthood in the 1990s.

Another priest that now faces disciplinary action is Canon Andrew Cornes, a retired clergyman from the Chichester diocese who was due to be a member of the Crown Nominations Commission that will appoint the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The CoE, central to 85 million Anglicans worldwide, has been in crisis over safeguarding the vulnerable since the November report, which said ex-leader Justin Welby had taken insufficient action to stop one of the church's most prolific serial abusers. Welby eventually stepped down over the findings.