Tuesday 12 June 2012

'Half-dressed' Cathedral choirmaster sacked over allegations he had 'sexual relations' with woman in graveyard



    Accused: Iain Simcock denies misconduct
    Accused: Iain Simcock denies misconduct

    A cathedral choirmaster has been dismissed after he was caught canoodling with a woman in the graveyard after a recital.

    Iain Simcock, 47, is accused by his bosses of being ‘partially dressed and having sexual relations’ with the woman in her 30s.

    He insists he was merely sitting on the grass with his girlfriend and they exchanged an innocent kiss and cuddle.

    However, he’s been sacked as director of music at Glasgow Cathedral by the Church of Scotland on the grounds of misconduct.

    The incident at the centre of the row happened on May 27 following an evening recital.

    He said: ‘We had a kiss and a cuddle after a wonderful recital on a lovely day. To suggest anything else is preposterous. It is distressing for us both.

    ‘We weren’t sitting on a grave. At one point [she] leaned over to kiss me. We were having a giggle. That was all. It’s ridiculous.

    ‘I have been told that this was why I was sacked. We have even talked about getting married in the cathedral.’

    But the cathedral authorities say that they received two independent reports of the incident.

    His letter of dismissal from the Church of Scotland goes on to add that his alleged conduct was ‘wholly unacceptable’ because it damaged the 800-year-old cathedral’s reputation.

    During his six-month tenure at the cathedral, Mr Simcock was also accused of bullying women members of the choir.

    Ten people left and two former choristers are said to be taking their case to an employment tribunal.


    Iain Simcock says he was sacked after having 'sexual relations' in a graveyard but he says it was all innocent canoodling
    Iain Simcock says he was sacked after having 'sexual relations' in a graveyard but he says it was all innocent canoodling

    The former Westminster Cathedral organist, who also works in Paris, is alleged to have told one of them they sounded like ‘something dragged up from the Clyde’.

    However, he denied bullying the women and insisted that he was trying to improve the standard of their singing. He said the accusations were ‘offensive’ because his criticism motivated the choir to improve.






    In Mr Simcock’s letter of termination, the Church of Scotland claimed that he only admitted to the incident when ‘made aware that this matter was reported to the committee by two independent parties and that Historic Scotland and Glasgow City Council have also been in touch to advise that they have been made aware of this’.

    The letter adds: ‘This conduct is wholly unacceptable, brings the cathedral into disrepute and falls far below the standard that the cathedral is entitled to expect from its employees.’




    The incident is alleged to have taken place in the grounds of Glasgow Cathedral last month
    The incident is alleged to have taken place in the grounds of Glasgow Cathedral last month

    In his letter of response, Mr Simcock says: ‘Your letter suggested that I only later admitted to sitting in the sun with my girlfriend on the grass opposite the north side of the cathedral.

    ‘Why would I deny that? I do deny most emphatically, however, any act of any sort that could, even ambiguously, be construed as being of a sexual nature.

    ‘It would have been impossible, given the number of tourists and passers-by to engage in any act without being arrested.’

    He said the claims against him were ‘insulting and wholly unbecoming of an employer’.

    A Church of Scotland spokesman said: ‘The former director of music at Glasgow Cathedral, Iain Simcock, was dismissed due to misconduct. This is a confidential employment matter.’


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157612/Iain-Simcock-Choirmaster-sacked-allegations-sexual-relations-woman-graveyard.html#ixzz1xZdNTSAB

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