Church inquiry into ‘sex abuse’ by bishop defective, probe says

A CHURCH of England inquiry into child abuse allegations against one of its most respected bishops almost 60 years after his death has been criticised for “rushing to judgment” by an independent review.

The review, led by Lord Carlile of Berriew, found the investigation into Bishop George Bell was too quick to accept the allegations of the complainant “without serious investigation or inquiry”.

Claims by a woman known as ‘Carol’ of abuse by Bishop Bell when she was aged between five and eight in the 1950s led the Church to issue an apology and pay more than £15,000 in compensation in 2013.

But the inquiry was widely criticised for failing to investigate the victim’s claims or seek witnesses who had known or worked for Bishop Bell during his tenure as Bishop of Chichester between 1929 and 1958.

Bishop Bell died a few months after his retirement.

Lambeth Palace commissioned

Investigation: George Bell

a review of the original investigation following criticism from Bishop Bell’s supporters that not enough was done to substantiate the complainant’s allegations, and after no other alleged victims came forward despite a helpline being set up.

Lord Carlile emphasised that the review was not to establish the truth of Carol’s claims, but only to investigate the Church’s handling of the case and establish best practice for handling future complaints.

He recommended that a trained legal professional be in- volved in future investigations into child sexual abuse by the clergy and that an advocate be assigned to the deceased clergyman as well as the complainant.

Controversially, he also recommended that where a settlement was reached without admission of liability, the settlement should include a confidentiality provision for the alleged abuser.

Lord Carlile said: “I have concluded that the Church of England failed to institute or follow a procedure which respected the rights of both sides.

“The Church, understandably concerned not to repeat the mistakes of the past when it had been too slow to recognise that abuse had been perpetrated by clergy and to recognise the pain and damage caused to victims, has in effect oversteered in this case. In other words, there was a rush to judgment.”

But Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he disagreed with the recommendation of confidentiality.

“The Church of England is committed to transparency and therefore we would take a different approach,” he said.