The former Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned after an inquiry found he colluded with senior clergy to help a paedophile bishop avoid jail.

Lord Carey quit his Church of England role on Sunday following an independent review of the church's handling of abuse carried out by Bishop Peter Ball, 85, who was jailed two years ago.

Ball was finally locked up for 32 months in October 2015 after admitting sex offences against 18 teenagers and young men between the 1970s and 1990s.

Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, asked Lord Carey to resign from his honorary Assistant Bishop of Oxford role.

Lord Carey, who was in the Archbishop role from 1991 to 2002, was asked to consider his position after the church's response to the scandal was branded "lamentable".

He was accused of helping to deliberately conceal evidence which helped Ball escape prosecution for 22 years.