A SENIOR clergyman accused of misconduct has agreed to resign after the charges against him were dropped.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Methuen, was due to face 21 charges of conduct unbecoming the office and work of a clerk in holy orders and one offence of serious, persistent or continuous neglect of duty.

The allegations were due to be aired at a church court sitting at Leeds Crown Court yesterday.

But after eight hours of behind-the-scenes discussions the charges against the 57-year-old were withdrawn.

Under the agreement, Mr Methuen will leave Ripon Cathedral, in North Yorkshire, by the end of the year and will go on sabbatical leave in the meantime.

In a statement, Mr Methuen, who joined the cathedral in 1995, said: "I believe that I now need a period of reflection on my future life and ministry, and I have accepted the bishop's offer of sabbatical leave."

Also in a statement, the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, the Right Reverend John Packer, said: "I am grateful to John Methuen for the lively and vigorous ministry he has pursued at the cathedral over the last ten years. My prayers are with him for his future life and ministry."

Complaints about the dean's management style and alleged high-handed and bullying behaviour were made to the bishop in 2001.

An inquiry was launched after the resignations of chapter clerk Howard Crawshaw, bursar Nigel Clay and Kerry Beaumont, organist and master of the choristers.

Mr Methuen, who has always denied the allegations, was suspended on full pay by the bishop in September last year.