Vin Drake, a former member of the Church of England synod and a campaigner for safeguarding issues, has penned an open letter to six high-ranking politicians who are Church Commissioners.
In his letter, he called for an investigation into the use of Church of England charitable funds to defend bishops in safeguarding cases, while victims receive no support.
Drake is urging these politicians to take action to ensure fairness for victims of church-related abuse, advocating for equality between them and those who fail to protect them.
He highlighted that most complaints against bishops are dismissed without proper investigation, often due to the poor quality of initial complaints, while bishops’ responses are carefully crafted with legal assistance funded by the Church Commissioners.
Drake expressed outrage that charitable funds are being used in this way without proper disclosure, especially by a charitable body accountable to Parliament.
He called on the Commissioners to use their influence to address what he describes as an unfair approach.
The letter has been sent to six influential figures: the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer; the Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood; Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith; Lord President of the Council, Lucy Powell; Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle; and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, Lisa Nandy.