Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Lewes who was jailed in 2015 for sexual offences against boys and young men, has died at the age of 87. 

Bishop Peter Hancock, the Church of England's lead safeguarding bishop said: "We have been made aware of the death of Peter Ball and our prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected by this news."

The Church of England said that Bishop Hancock would be in touch with survivors of the offences perpetrated by Ball to offer support.

The Church would be offering support to his family as well, it said. 

Ball was Bishop of Lewes between 1977 and 1992, and later Bishop of Gloucester from 1992 to 1993. In 2015, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 32 months in prison for misconduct in public office and 15 months for indecent assaults that were to run concurrently. 

Ball was released from prison in February 2017 having served 16 months.

An ongoing public inquiry into sexual abuse in the Church of England has found numerous failures relating to the Ball case. 

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said in a report published earlier this year that there was in the Church an "avoidance of reporting alleged crimes to the authorities and a failure to take professional advice".

"The question remains why the Church's responses to sexual abuse in Chichester, including the Peter Ball case, were so inadequate," the report said.

"They had devastating consequences for the children and young people who were affected. There are some reasons already well known to this Inquiry from other investigations, principally concerning the prioritisation of reputation over the protection of children."