A former Catholic priest exposed as a serial child sex abuser has claimed he posed no "threat or danger to children".

Bill Carney was accused by the Murphy report, which was published in Ireland two years ago, of abusing at least 32 children.

Carney, who was ordained in 1974 and defrocked in 1992, left Ireland and was traced to Spain before settling in Northleach, near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Earlier this year the Gloucestershire Echo newspaper revealed he was living in the home of his ex-wife, close to a playground.

Yesterday, the newspaper published a letter Carney had written in response to that article.

"Your article depicts me as a threat or a danger to children. Nothing could be further from the truth," he wrote.

The Murphy report said Carney pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault in 1983 against two altar boys.

In March last year the BBC's Panorama traced him to Spain.

"I have read the Murphy report six or seven times," he told the programme. "I would dispute all of it except that I pleaded guilty to two charges in 1983 and the matter was dealt with by the court and I was sentenced."