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UK News

Cottrell hits out at BBC report as calls mount for him to resign over abuse case

by Donna Birrell

The Archbishop of York has hit out at a BBC Programme accusing it of "re-traumatising" survivors and victims of abuse.

In a personal statement following calls for his resignation for allowing an abuser to continue working as a priest, Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell hit back at the BBC R4 File on Four programme saying the news coverage had "incorrectly implied" he hadn't taken action against Canon David Tudor.

The programme's investigation had revealed that when he took over as Bishop of Chelmsford in 2010 Stephen Cottrell was told about longstanding safeguarding concerns over Tudor, a priest in the diocese.

A spokesperson for the Archbishop said at that time he would have been told that Tudor had been a defendant in two criminal trials - in one he was acquitted of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl, in the second he was convicted of indecently assaulting three girls and was jailed for six months. But that conviction was quashed on technical grounds.

In 1989, Tudor had also been banned for sexual misconduct by a Church tribunal but was allowed to return to ministry after 5 years.

He was suspended in 2005 over an allegation that he had assaulted a child in the 1970s but he was allowed back to work under conditions. Just months later he was promoted to area dean in charge of 12 parishes. 

In his statement, Archbishop Cottrell said he had inherited a situation which was "horrible and intolerable - most of all for the survivors and victims who had bravely come forward and shared their stories from the 1980s". 

He said he had suspended Tudor at the earliest opportunity when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019, and that up until then there were no legal grounds to take alternative action.

He added that he was "deeply sorry" but "extremely disappointed" that the story had been presented "as if it was an abuser being ignored or protected. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. And to present it this way only re-traumatises already hurt people". 

Following the BBC report, the Bishop of Newcastle Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley who is an outspoken critic of the way the Church of England hierarchy have handled safeguarding complaints, said Archbishop Cottrell could have and should have taken action against David Tudor and called for him to resign.

Archbishop Cottrell ended his statement by calling for the Church of England to implement independent scrutiny of safeguarding "so that those who do have understandable frustrations and concerns can have their voices heard and those of us who have responsibility for managing these situations can be helped to avoid them and resolve them. I have publicly supported this for many years. I pledge myself to do what I can to achieve it." 

It's the latest safeguarding controversy to hit the Church of England just weeks after the Archbishop of Canterbury Most Rev Justin Welby resigned over the Makin Review into the church's handling of abuse by the late Christian barrister John Smyth.

He is due to step down on 6th January, with Archbishop Cottrell assuming his responsibilities until a successor is found.

 
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