School chaplain who abused boys is stripped of MBE

A former school chaplain who sexually assaulted pupils in his care has been stripped of his MBE.

Timothy Biles, 90, carried out attacks at St Francis School for Boys in Hooke, Dorset, in the 1960s.

In 2020, he was honoured for services to the church.

However, he was jailed for six years in 2024 at Bournemouth Crown Court for five counts of indecent assault.

Biles, formerly of Sherborne, was employed as a PE teacher and chaplain at the private school, which has since closed.

After sentencing, the church removed his title of Canon Emeritus and wrote to the honours Forfeiture Committee, an independent advisory group of senior civil servants and independent members, about removing the MBE.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Right Reverend Stephen Lake, previously said the "appalling" abuse had "rightly resulted in a significant custodial sentence".

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