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The new Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, which has around 2m tourists visiting every year, has come from Chelmsford, one of the least visited cathedrals in Britain. The Very Rev John Moses, 58, has been Provost of Chelmsford for fourteen years.

Speaking yesterday at a press conference to mark his appointment to succeed the Very Rev Eric Evans, who retires in October, Dr Moses rejected recent claims by a Church Army officer that cathedrals were out of touch. St Paul's would never charge admission to people who came to pray, and even among the tourists there was always a priest on duty, available to the spiritually distressed.

The new Dean supervised the construction of a new organ at Chelmsford, and speaks warmly of the choral tradition in English cathedrals. Despite this he is, he said, tone deaf.