Boris Johnson was battling sleaze allegations last night after it was claimed that his deputy was suspended as a priest for sexual and financial misconduct.

The Bishop of Chelmsford said he warned the London mayor in writing two months ago that his deputy, Ray Lewis, had been barred over 'sufficiently serious issues'.

Mr Lewis was the London mayor's star signing when he unveiled his new team days after seizing power for the Tories in May. 

Under pressure: Boris Johnson and Ray Lewis at yesterday's press call

But yesterday Mr Lewis, 45, was hit by a deluge of claims about his private and professional life in what furious Tories said was a Labour smear operation.

It emerged that he had been suspended as an Anglican priest by the Bishop of Chelmsford nearly a decade ago. Mr Lewis denied any knowledge of his supension, only to have the current Bishop, John Gladwin, say that he must have known.

Mr Gladwin said he and a fellow Bishop had alerted Mr Johnson to doubts about Mr Lewis's fitness when he appointed him.

He told Channel 4 News that he and the Bishop of Barking 'felt that there was at least a basic duty to let the mayor know what the position was'.

He said that in 1999 Mr Lewis's ministry had been restricted when 'sufficiently serious issues were raised about his conduct'.

He said: 'My colleague, the Bishop of Barking did inform the mayor very simply that Ray did not have permission to exercise his priesthood in this diocese.

'The letter (from the Bishop of Barking) merely informed the mayor as far as I understand that Ray did not have any permission to officiate in this diocese...'

More embarrassingly, Mr Lewis was said to have borrowed thousands of pounds from parishioners, including one with learning disabilities.

And there were reports of one case of sexual harrassment against him, as well as claims that youngsters at his East Side Young Leaders Academy were physically abused.

Mr Lewis, who is leading the mayor's work on tackling youth crime in London, dismissed the allegations as 'complete rubbish' and insisted he would resign if they were proved.

But his defence was crumbling last night amid reports that the mayor's office sought legal advice last week on how to prevent the claims from becoming public.

The row left Mr Johnson facing a major crisis, just two months after ejecting Labour's Ken Livingstone.

He ordered an independent inquiry and called an emergency press conference ahead of simultaneous reports by Channel Four News, the BBC and The Guardian newspaper.

Mr Lewis has won plaudits for his revolutionary work with difficult teenagers in the East End of London.

The sexual assault and financial allegations relate to the years that the pugnacious black community leader spent as vicar of St Matthew's Church in West Ham, East London, in the early 1990s.

The press conference heard that Mr Lewis, who is married with three daughters, was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour with one of his parishioners.

Last night, it was reported that Mr Lewis improperly borrowed a total of £41,000 from
three vulnerable parishioners. He is alleged to have borrowed £25,000 from St Matthew's churchwarden Mary Massey for an 'investment scheme'.

Last night, Mrs Massey, 72, confirmed to the Daily Mail that she loaned Mr Lewis the money in 1995. She claimed she did not receive all the money back until April 2005.

It was also alleged that he borrowed £8,000 from a parishioner with learning difficulties and another £8,000 from a Nigerian divinity student. The first sum was not repaid while a cheque for the second bounced.

A police source revealed that Mr Lewis was arrested over an allegation of fraud in 2000, but police took no further action.

However, following complaints the Church of England placed Mr Lewis on the 'Lambeth List' of those banned from public ministry and teaching from 1999 to 2005.

Mr Lewis has also been accused of assaulting some of the boys who attended his academy.

A Metropolitan Police source revealed that between 2003 and 2008 Mr Lewis was accused of five charges of common assault and one charge of child cruelty. It is thought that the charges relate to six children.

However, after an investigation, the alleged victims were unable to substantiate the claims and Mr Lewis was not arrested.

Yesterday, he dismissed all the allegations as 'totally unfounded', ' complete rubbish' and 'an attempt to smear me'.

He said: 'Those that know me well know that while I'm not a saint I'm also not the person painted by these allegations. I have never harassed anyone, I have never defrauded anyone.'

Mr Johnson said: 'I have every confidence in Ray Lewis and I think he is a tremendous deputy mayor and a great asset to London. He has worked tirelessly for young people in London.'