If Canon Jeremy Pemberton and the Rev Andrew Foreshew-Cain win places on the General Synod, it will embarrass bishops who issued guidance last year banning clergy from entering same-sex marriages.

Canon Pemberton, a hospital chaplain in Lincolnshire, is in the middle of a court battle with a bishop who 'sacked' him from his role as a priest, while Mr Foreshew-Cain has been privately rebuked by his bishop,

"As the archbishop has said, Jesus was a refugee, and there are refugees here who are desperate for sanctuary from war-torn places and the archbishop is completely torn about their situation and wants to make a difference."

A four-bedroom cottage at Lambeth Palace will reportedly host a family or two, with Welby stating that he will pay for the expenses from his own funds.

Dr Jules Gomez, the vicar of St Mary's on the Harbour in Castletown, says his parishioner Rosalind Taisia started the petition - which is now being circulated by supporters.

In July he presented a petition for redress of grievance to Tynwald over bullying and clergy employment rights.

Dr Gomez explains says the online petition will eventually be handed to the Lieutenant Governor Adam Wood:

On Tuesday, the Crown Prosecution Service allowed two charges of indecently assaulting two boys in their early teens to lie on file. The deal, hammered out in secret with CPS lawyers, means Ball will not face trial on perhaps the most serious alleged offences, which involved boys aged 13 and 15.

Bobbie Cheema QC, for the crown, told the Old Bailey in London there had been a great deal of communication between prosecutors and the defence, which had resulted in the pleas.