The Pope has been criticised by the government-ordered child sex abuse inquiry after the Vatican refused to provide crucial evidence.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) has repeatedly asked the Holy See about whether officials in Rome assisted convicted paedophile Laurence Soper while he was fugitive monk wanted in Britain for child abuse offences.

The Inquiry has asked the Holy See three times about how Soper was able to make regular withdrawals from his private Vatican Bank account without the British authorities - who had issued an international arrest warrant - being notified.

Last week The Telegraph reported that the inquiry said it was “regrettable” and “disappointing” that the Vatican had rejected repeated requests for a witness to explain its role in the case of Laurence Soper.

The Pope’s representative in Britain, the Apostolic Nuncio, has declined to give crucial evidence - and is not required to be summoned because he is covered by diplomatic immunity.

However today Brian Altman QC, counsel to the Inquiry told the hearing into the wider Catholic church that the Vatican’s response to child sexual abuse was at odds with that of Pope Francis.

He told the hearing: “The Holy See’s refusal to provide the Inquiry with all the evidence it has sought is very disappointing. In his introduction to the recent Motu Proprio, ‘Vos estis lux mundi’, Pope Francis acknowledged the “physical, psychological and spiritual damage” done to the victims of child sexual abuse, and added that “a continuous and profound conversion of hearts is needed, attested by concrete and effective actions that involve everyone in the Church”.