A pastor who was found guilty of defrauding his congregation for selling them a “divine cure” during the Coronavirus pandemic has lost a Court of Appeal against his conviction.

In 2021, Bishop Climate Wiseman told believers at Kingdom Church in Camberwell, south London, he had found the cure for Covid-19: an olive oil mixture of cedar wood and hyssop.

The 47-year-old sold the mixture for £91, marketing it as a "divine cleansing oil" and "plague protection oil". The oil was part of a "divine plague protection kit" which had a prayer card and a piece of red yarn.

In late 2020, Bishop climate was found of fraud between March 23 2020 and March 24 in 2021 by a jury at Inner London Crown Court.

But then took his case to the Court of Appeal last month and but the court said it was "not persuaded that the conviction was unsafe".

Wiseman had faced trading standards investigation before for selling oils. In 2016, he promoted an oil claiming to cure cancer, but no legal action followed. This was shared with the trial jury, and Wiseman's lawyers argued it was "highly prejudicial material" and could have influenced the final verdict. Prosecutors disagreed, stating that "no real prejudice was caused" and the jury was "sufficiently well-directed".