FORMER bishop of Winchester The Right Revd Michael Scott-Joynt has died aged 71.

His death on Saturday came just three years after his retirement from the role, which he held for 16 years.

Bishop Scott-Joynt had previously served as Bishop of Stafford, in a career in the Anglican church which spanned over four decades.

He was the Bishops’ spokesman on constitutional affairs in the House of Lords and chaired a Church of England committee which advocated the relaxation of rules governing the remarriage of divorcees in church.

A strong supporter of traditional relationships, Bishop Scott-Joynt opposed the appointment of a homosexual canon as a bishop in 2003.

He will also be remembered for condemning the 9/11 terrorist attacks as “cruelly evil” in his address on Christmas Day 2001.

Following his death the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the Church of England had lost a “faithful, hard working and distinguished servant”.

Bishop Scott-Joynt is survived by his wife Louise, two sons and a daughter.