Dean gives feuding Lincoln a fresh start

A new Dean of Lincoln was appointed yesterday with the brief of "drawing a line" under a decade of controversy at the city's cathedral.

The Venerable Alexander Knight, currently Archdeacon of Basingstoke and Canon Residentiary of Winchester Cathedral, said he was "aware of the past" but was going to "look to the future".

The cathedral's recent history did not deter him."I am a team player and I hope to use my experience to establish good relations between the cathedral and the diocese. That is what we must work at."

Last October the Very Rev Brandon Jackson resigned following a bitter feud with the cathedral's Sub-Dean, Canon Rex Davis. Canon Davis is still in post, but was in Australia for a family funeral yesterday when the announcement was made. Trouble between the two men began in the late 1980s. Dr Jackson was later accused of sexual harassment by a female verger, but acquitted by a church court.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, intervened last year, urging both Dr Jackson and Canon Davis to resign. The deadlock was broken in July when Dr Jackson announced his resignation.