Archbishop of York survives a General Synod vote despite further allegations against him

The Church of England has been in the news a lot in recent months in relation to child sex abuse and in particular scandals surrounding the lack of any action on their part when allegations have been made. Those failures include a failure to adequately investigate the allegations that had been made or to take suitable disciplinary action or to help those who have been accused of serious misconduct be brought to justice.

It is therefore embarrassing for the church that further allegations of safeguarding failures have recently been reported in The Telegraph newspaper and by Channel 4 News relating to the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell.

The Telegraph reported allegations by a whistleblower that both the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Oxford put pressure on other members of the appointment committee to approve the appointment of the Bishop of Liverpool Dr John Perumbalath despite the fact that there were safeguarding concerns in relation to him.     

It is alleged that when Dr Perumbalath was interviewed  by the 14 members of the Crown Nominations Committee in 2022 he gave an answer in response to a safeguarding question that raised concerns with a number of members of the committee. 

The whistleblower says that it was suggested that the safeguarding issue identified should have been a clear reason to reject him but that the Archbishop of York urged the others on the committee not to exclude him. 

It is also alleged that both the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Oxford applied undue pressure on the other commission members after Dr Perumbalath failed to get enough votes to be appointed in the first two votes. He only obtained the required authority on the third and final vote.

Dr Perumbalath retired recently after accusations of sexual misconduct had been made by two women against him including an accusation by the Bishop of Warrington. 

Channel 4 News have subsequently reported that the Archbishop of York did not know about the sexual misconduct allegations against Dr Perumbalath before the appointment committee met      but that he was aware of them prior to him being enthroned as the Bishop of Liverpool.  

The Archbishop of York has again been criticised by those inside and outside the church following these reports. He has previously faced criticism into his own failures in relation to safeguarding and child sex abuse in particular relating to his time as the Bishop of Chelmsford when he allowed a priest David Tudor to remain in his position despite him having been barred by the Church from being alone with children. He was also aware that compensation had been paid to the survivor of sexual abuse by Tudor.   

Both the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Oxford have denied the allegations of bullying in relation to the appointment of Dr Perumbalath.   

The scandal surrounding the Archbishop is not going away. The General Synod 2025 opened in London yesterday which is the national assembly of the Church of England. It will address a number of issues including safeguarding issues. It was suggested yesterday that his position was no longer tenable and that he should not be allowed to deliver his traditional opening speech but he comfortably survived a vote on that.   

Jordans solicitors are acting on behalf of vulnerable children and young adults whom it is alleged were sexually abused by in Church of England institutions. 

Compensation is a small step towards taking control of your life and getting the justice you deserve.

We understand how difficult it can be for you to talk about the abuse you suffered during your childhood. That’s why our specially trained child abuse solicitors work closely alongside psychologists and barristers to support you both emotionally and legally.

Justice for child abuse survivors should be accessible no matter how long ago it happened. That’s why we fought for a landmark change in the law, which allows an abuse claim to be brought before a court regardless of when it took place.

If you want to discuss the options that are open to you, please contact our specialist Abuse Team at Jordans Solicitors