PRINCE Charles admitted today he regretted being “deceived” by a disgraced bishop he stayed friends with for more than two decades despite the clergyman having been cautioned for gross indecency.

But the heir to the throne told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) that he was “not aware until recently” that a police caution “carries an acceptance of guilt.”

The statement from Prince Charles was read to the inquiry at the end of hearings into how widespread allegations against former Church of England bishop Peter Ball were ignored.