Runaway abbot arrested in Kosovo

Laurence Soper (pictured right), the fugitive former abbot of Ealing Abbey in west London, is to be extradited to Britain following his arrest in Kosovo, writes Liz Dodd.

Soper, 72, is wanted in connection with historic child sex abuse cases in England. The former monk, who is no longer a member of the Ealing community, taught at the abbey school, St Benedict’s, in the 1970s and 1980s.

He disappeared from the Benedictine university at Sant’Anselmo in Rome, where he had been working as bursar, in 2011, after failing to return to London for further police questioning about alleged abuse.

At the time of going to press Soper was still in Kosovo, but a source said the police were optimistic that the extradition process would not take long. Soper was arrested under a European warrant in Peje, western Kosovo, on Wednesday last week. He had been living under the name of Andrew Soper.

A spokesman for Ealing Abbey, Barry Hudd, said that the monastic community had cooperated fully with the police investigation and would continue to do so. He said there had been no contact with Soper since he left Sant’ Anselmo.

He predicted that Soper would be arrested on his return to Britain. Soper was previously interviewed by the police in connection with the allegations, but had never been arrested or bailed in the UK, Mr Hudd explained.

According to The Times, Soper’s landlord in Peje said he had rented an apartment for €250 (£196) a month for more than four years. Mr Hudd said he did not want to speculate on the source of Soper’s income, adding that if he had relied on private wealth, he had misled the community over its existence.

n The deputy head of St Benedict’s has been jailed for possessing, showing and making category A indecent images of children. Category A is the most extreme category of indecent images.

Peter Allott, 37, of Marchwood Crescent, Ealing, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images; one of distributing indecent images; one count of possessing extreme pornography and one charge of possessing class A drugs at Blackfriars Crown Court. He was jailed for 33 months.