Bishop resigns over drink-driving

Margot Kaessmann said she was stepping down as the head of the Lutheran church following the weekend incident.

Germany’s top Protestant cleric resigned today after being caught driving three times over the legal limit.

Margot Kaessmann said she was stepping down as the head of the Lutheran church following the weekend incident.

Bishop Kaessmann was stopped by police on Saturday after going through a red light in Hannover. A test showed she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.154 per cent well above the legal limit of 0.05.

Bishop Kaessmann was elected last October as the first woman to head Germany’s Lutheran church. Her term was supposed to last six years.

PA