THE Archbishop of York has denied claims that a row threatens to overshadow the consecration of the first female Church of England bishop next week.

Dr John Sentamu has refuted a report in a national newspaper claiming that parishioners will be "tainted" if he takes an active roll in both the consecration of The Rev Libby Lane in York Minster on Monday and a separate ceremony for a traditional conservative male bishop.

The report claimed that Dr Sentamu will take the unprecedented step of declining to "lay his hands" on the Rev Philip North when he is made Bishop of Burnley, because he will also have taken an active role in the ordination of Rev Lane as Bishop of Stockport because she is a woman.

It is claimed the move is a way of appeasing traditionalist parishioners, but in a statement Dr Sentamu said: "Any suggestion that the arrangements proposed for the consecration of the Bishop of Burnley are influenced by a theology of ‘taint’ would be mistaken.

"I presided at the consecration of the Rt Revd Glyn Webster, Bishop of Beverley, a Provincial Episcopal Visitor serving traditionalist parishes across the Dioceses of the Province of York. I also presided at the Consecration of the present Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Revd Martin Warner, when he was made Bishop of Whitby. There were no objections on either of these occasions, despite the fact that I have been ordaining women to the priesthood since I first became Bishop of Stepney in 1996."

He added: "I met with Rev North to discuss with him how his consecration would be handled given his theological convictions about the consecration of women to the episcopate.

"What I offered is covered in detail in a letter I subsequently sent to all Bishops of the northern Province. I would like to make it clear that these arrangements were offered at my suggestion and not at Philip North’s request. Any suggestions to the contrary are mistaken. The Rev Philip North is not the sort of priest who would insist on a particular set of arrangements for his consecration."

Meanwhile preparations for Rev Lane's consecration are well in hand and a Minster spokeswoman said that the service was attracting strong interest from national and international media.

She said people were planning to attend from all over the world, including some female bishops from countries such as the United States and Germany.

Full information on the Rev Lane's ordination can be found at www.yorkminster.org