ADULTERY SCANDAL ROCKS FREE CHURCH
Wife accused her minister husband of five affairs before he took his own life
A CHURCH are probing allegations that a married minister had affairs with several women in his congregation before taking his own life.
The Isle of Lewis was rocked by the suicide of popular Reverend Dr Iain D Campbell, a former moderator of the Free Church General Assembly, in January.
Now they are to investigate allegations made by his wife Anne regarding his relationships with a string of women on the island.
Glowing tributes were paid to the dad of three after he died aged 53, but the Free Church in Scotland – known for their strict stance on adultery – yesterday confirmed they were taking the allegations “very seriously”.
Widow Anne, 54, is understood to have confronted her husband after discovering deleted emails from members of his congregation.
The Record understands several married women – possibly as many as five – have been named in the allegations.
Dr Campbell tried to take his own life in hospital in Stornoway after an earlier failed suicide attempt.
He was transferred from the Western Isles Hospital to Glasgow for specialist treatment but later died.
Learning support assistant Anne is understood to have since made a report concerning her husband’s alleged conduct to the Free Church. Meetings have been held recently to discuss the situation surrounding the minister’s death.
A spokesman for the church said: “We can confirm that the Free Church of Scotland are investigating allegations made in connection with the late Rev Dr Iain D Campbell.
“The Western Isles Presbytery are taking these allegations very seriously and acting on them in accordance with the stated practice of the Free Church of Scotland.”
Rev Campbell grew up on the Isle of Lewis and studied at the University of Glasgow. He was ordained on Skye in 1988.
He spent seven years on the island before returning to Lewis.
He became moderator in 2012 and was also well-known in the Free Church of Scotland as a theological writer.
The minister was pastor of Point Free Church, and of the nearby Knock Free Church on Lewis, and played a major role in reuniting the congregations following a 57-year-long split.
An obituary by Reverend James Maciver said the minister’s sudden death had “numbed the Western Isles Free Presbytery, and the tremors from the shock extended through the Free Church and well beyond”.
He said: “Such was his fitness, vigour and drive that none could have expected his demise at 53 years of age.”
In 2015, the Free Church of Scotland urged MSPs not to abolish adultery laws because it would lead to “the absolute abandonment of the institution of marriage in our culture today”.
Anne declined to comment yesterday, but a statement issued on the family’s behalf said they were grieving Rev Campbell’s loss.
It said: “The family have lost a husband and father. This is a personal matter and the family have requested that they be allowed to grieve in private.”
The accused women are believed to be denying the allegations and consulting lawyers.
The Free Church of Scotland are taking the allegations very seriously SPOKESMAN