A married minister who is believed to have hanged himself is under investigation after being accused by his wife of having seven affairs with church members.

The Rev Dr Iain D Campbell, 53, who died in January, has been posthumously accused of the infidelity with seven members of his congregation on the Isle of Lewis.

The allegations about the minister, which are believed to have been made by his wife, Anne Campbell, are under investigation by the Free Church of Scotland.

Mr Campbell was rushed to hospital in Stornoway at the end of January. At the time this was reported as a heart attack, but it has now emerged that it may have been a drug overdose. He is believed to have hanged himself while in hospital.

He was a well-respected priest who was known as a talented preacher and accomplished theologian. The couple have three adult children.

Fellow Isle of Lewis priest Rev James Maciver, who conducted Mr Campbell's funeral, told the Telegraph: "There are certain processes underway. At the moment we're just investigating. We're obliged as a church not to cover things up.

"In order to make the investigation fair, we're confining comment to one statement."

In the statement, a spokesman said: “We can confirm that the Free Church of Scotland is investigating allegations made in connection with the late Rev Dr Iain D Campbell.

“The Western Isles Presbytery is taking these allegations very seriously and is acting on them in accordance with the stated practice of the Free Church of Scotland.”

A church source previously told the Daily Mail that the allegations had been made by Mrs Campbell.

The source said: "There was never a whisper of a rumour about affairs until after he died – on such a close-knit island they would have been very difficult to keep secret.

"Yet Anne has supplied names of these alleged mistresses to the church. If she is right, he had been leading an extraordinary double life for years."

A spokesman for Anne Campbell said: “The family has lost a husband and father. This is a personal matter and the family has requested that they be allowed to grieve in private.”

The Free Church, which has around 13,000 members, split from the Modern Church of Scotland in 1843 after congregations asked for the right to elect their own pastors.

Source: thetelegraph.co.uk

Date Posted: Monday, March 6th, 2017 , Total Page Views: 2095