Marty Rathbun, formerly¹ the religion's second highest-ranking official, told Oscar-winning film-maker Alex Gibney, that his role was to "facilitate the break-up" for church leader David Miscavige.

 

The church said that the "accusations²" were "entirely³ false".

 

Cruise, the most outspoken⁴ Hollywood Scientologist, drifted away from the church during his marriage to Kidman, according to insiders.

 

The actress, who was raised a Roman Catholic, was already listed as a "potential trouble source" by the church because her father was a prominent psychiatrist⁵, a profession for which Scientology has a deep hostility⁶.

 

Mr Miscavage, the best man at their wedding, reportedly became alarmed about Cruise when he spent a year in Britain with Kidman in the late 1990s filming Eyes Wide Shut and did not return calls.

 

Church leaders launched an aggressive campaign to split the couple as Kidman was believed to have persuaded Cruise to distance himself from Scientology, according to Mr Rathbun.

 

"I was to facilitate the breakup," said the former top Miscavige aide who left the church in 2004.

 

Mr Rathbun said that Cruise also shared concerns with him about Kidman during a church "auditing⁷ session" and suggested that her telephones could be tapped. He said that Mr Miscavige authorised the wiretapping, but it is unclear whether any information was ever collected.

 

The church also began aggressively monitoring Cruise himself. The information was then allegedly forwarded to Mr Miscavige, Mr Rathbun said.

 

Cruise and Kidman divorced in 2001, and Cruise subsequently became an increasingly public advocate for the religion. Mr Miscavige also served as best man at the actor's subsequent marriage to Katie Holmes.

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