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Press Releases
Inside Out investigates "The Vicar and the Drug Addict"
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One of the country's leading campaigners for the homeless has been accused of stealing money from his charity and of having an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable client.
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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ South's Inside Out programme (22 February 2008, 7.30pm, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One South) will show how Father Alan Sharpe has been secretly giving the drug addict hundreds of pounds a week to buy heroin and crack.
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The programme will also show how the vicar paid a charitable donation from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ into his private bank account.
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Father Alan denies the allegations but has resigned as chairman of trustees of the Lorica Trust, a charity which he set up to help the homeless.
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The vicar attracted widespread publicity when he converted parts of St Patrick's Church in Hove into a nightshelter and hostel.
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But Inside Out decided to investigate after receiving several complaints about his relationship with one of the homeless residents.
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"We were told that Father Alan was giving the heroin addict about £100 per day to buy drugs," said presenter Joe Crowley.
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"Our surveillance then showed that this was true. We secretly filmed the vicar driving the drug addict to the bank and handing him money. The addict then took this money to his dealer to buy drugs."
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In total, the programme saw Father Alan taking the drug addict to the cashpoint on 11 different days. On some of these days, the vicar made two trips to the bank.
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Joe Crowley says that the programme also received a tip-off that the vicar was stealing charitable funds to pay for the drugs.
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"We wanted to know if that was true, so we sent Father Alan a charitable donation of £50. He paid it in to his private bank account and, almost four months later, the charity still hasn't received the money."
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Father Alan declined to answer questions about the postal order or his relationship with the drug addict.
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In a statement, he said: "Everything I have done has been open, as a genuine, heartfelt Christian response to the needs of marginalised people. There are no secrets in the way any aspect of the work has been carried out.
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"Like many other parish clergy, I do give cash donations out of my own money. A gift of cash can make a huge difference to someone's life and prospects. Sometimes this works and sometimes it will not. But that is just the way of things and does not invalidate the giving.
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"As a parish priest I have countless numbers of pastoral relationships with a wide range of people, many of whom are on the margins of society. And note these are pastoral relationships, not the inappropriate relationships you suggest.
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"It has always been an odd ministry and the very nature of the work means that sometimes it's all a muddle, but at the heart of my work and the wider work being done at St Patrick's, we have endeavoured to show Christian love in action."
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Father Alan said he had decided to resign in the hope that the essential work of the charity could continue without fear of reprisal.
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A spokeswoman for the Lorica Trust said the charity had accepted Father Alan's resignation because his personal support for a former service user compromised his position.
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"The charity would not condone in any way any officer, trustee or member of the charity developing an inappropriate relationship with a beneficiary of the charity's services."
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She said that a review by the charity's auditors had concluded that the charity's procedures for financial management were very good.
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However, the accountants could not find the £50 donation from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳.
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"We have been unable to trace a cash deposit with the charity for this amount around the date in question. The charity takes any allegation of misappropriation of charity funds very seriously indeed."
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Notes to Editors
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Father Alan Sharpe was due to be one of the speakers at a homelessness conference organised by Shelter next month.
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The new series of Inside Out begins on Friday 22 February at 7.30pm on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One
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³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ South Press Office
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