The Bishop of Southwark has denied being drunk during an incident earlier this month in which he lost his belongings and suffered head injuries.

The Rt Rev Tom Butler said today it would have been "entirely out of character" if he had been drunk after a Christmas party at the Irish Embassy in London on December 5. He said he continued to believe he had been mugged and would not be resigning over the matter.

But Dr Butler, who lost his briefcase and mobile phone and suffered a bump to the head in the incident, admitted he could remember nothing of the journey home from the drinks reception.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, ahead of his regular Thought for the Day instalment, the Bishop said he was having tests for amnesia, describing his loss of memory as "very worrying".

"I’ve had extensive medical tests and they are going on," he said. "I remember nothing from the early time of the party until I got home."

The Bishop said that his Oyster travelcard records show that he used public transport from central London to his home in south Streatham, a trip which he insisted would be difficult to undertake while drunk. "I really do defy anyone who’s had too much to drink to make that journey," he said.

He also described an account of him throwing toys around in the back of a parked car as "very strange". According to a report, witnesses saw a man who looked like the bishop getting into the back of an unlocked Mercedes near London Bridge, on the same night.

The man was alleged to have been throwing children’s toys around and to have announced: "I’m the Bishop of Southwark. It’s what I do."

Dr Butler said today: "That again is a very strange story…I’m suggesting there are elements in that story I find extremely difficult, how I could have broken into a locked car and set off the alarm?"

The Bishop denied misleading his congregation when he told them the next day he had been mugged - a claim which the Metropolitan police are no longer pursuing. He said that his briefcase had been returned to him days later - not by the police but by a national newspaper.

"The injuries were compatible with being mugged and we all thought that’s what had happened," he said, adding that he had been attending similar receptions for 20 years and that he was always "very careful".

"Normally at a reception I will have a glass of wine or two and I enjoy talking with people". Asked whether he often got drunk, he added: "No I don’t get drunk frequently. I wouldn’t be able to do my job if I did."

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