Former archbishop stands by Oxford dean

Lord Carey, faith leaders and academics sign letter backing Christ Church head in row with dons

A FORMER archbishop of Canterbury and four bishops are among a group of faith leaders and academics who have thrown their weight behind the Dean of Christ Church amid an ongoing row over his tenure at the Oxford college. Lord Carey, former head of the Church of England, is among 60 signatories to a letter accusing critics of the Very Rev Martyn Percy of employing “devious methods and offensive language” to try to depose him.

The bishops of Bristol, Salisbury, Buckingham and Brisbane have also signed the letter, sent to The Daily Telegraph, along with Terry Waite, a former Church of England envoy, and Rev Jonathan Aitken, the disgraced Tory minister turned priest. It is the latest salvo in a war of words between Dr

Percy, who is thought to be paid about £90,000 a year for presiding over both the college and Cathedral, and a number of Oxford dons who have repeatedly called for him to step down.

Last month, The Telegraph reported that 41 members of Christ Church’s governing body had written to the Charity Commission accusing Dr Percy of “unsound judgment” and “a consistent lack of moral compass” in an attempt to have him removed from the board of trustees.

They also accused him of breaching his legal, fiduciary and safeguarding duties and of leaking confidential material to the press.

Dr Percy was reinstated as Dean of Christ Church last September after being suspended for alleged “immoral, scandalous and disgraceful behaviour”.

An internal tribunal by Sir Andrew Smith, a retired high court judge, dismissed the complaints against the Anglican theologian following an 11-day hearing behind closed doors. The full judgment was never published.

In February, leaked emails appeared in the press revealing Oxford academics had described the Dean as a “little

Hitler”, “thick” and “nasty”. Dr Percy has subsequently launched an employment tribunal claim against Christ Church claiming to have been victimised and seeking damages.

The letter describes Dr Percy as “a man of consistently good character, an exceptional scholar, a respected public servant, and an outstanding Christian leader”.

Questioning why “some members of the governing body wish to go to such extreme lengths to destroy the reputation of their Dean and to break his spirit”, the letter suggests there has been a “sustained campaign against the Dean led by senior members of the college governing body.”

It adds: “The suggestion that he ‘“lacks a moral compass’” is so far from the truth as to be laughable, were it not so insulting. We believe that Martyn Percy is a victim of gross injustice and malice.”

A spokesman for Christ Church, which is understood to have spent £2million on the case already, said it was committed to a mediated solution.

sir – You reported (May 22) that a letter from some individual trustees of Christ Church, Oxford, had made a series of allegations against their dean, the Very Rev Professor Martyn Percy.

We wish to express our confidence in Martyn Percy. We know him as a man of consistently good character, an exceptional scholar, a respected public servant and an outstanding Christian leader.

We do not speculate on the reasons why some members of the governing body of Christ Church wish to go to such extreme lengths to destroy the reputation of their dean and break his spirit. But we do know that the recent letter is an episode in a sustained campaign against the dean by senior members of the college governing body since his appointment.

The specific allegations against Dean Percy have changed over time, but each one has been disproved. In August of last year, he was wholly exonerated after an extensive investigation by Sir Andrew Smith, a retired High Court judge.

Sir Andrew found that people opposed to Dean Percy had employed devious methods and offensive language in their efforts to break his resolve, and some will be parties to an employment tribunal to be heard next year.

The grievances in the letter by some of the trustees are a set of untested and gratuitous assertions for which no evidence is provided. The insinuation that Dean Percy personally represents a safeguarding risk is abhorrent and wholly unjustified. The suggestion that he “lacks a moral compass” is so far from the truth as to be laughable, were it not so insulting.

We believe that Dean Percy is a victim of gross injustice and malice. We wish to see this damaging business resolved justly with minimum delay, so that he can continue to exercise his gifts in leading Christ Church.

Very Rev Dr David Ison

Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral

Very Rev Andrew Nunn

Dean of Southwark

Very Rev Christine Wilson

Dean of Lincoln

Very Rev Nicholas Papadopulos Dean of Salisbury

Rt Rev Lord Carey of Clifton

Former Archbishop of Canterbury

Rt Rev Vivienne Faull

Bishop of Bristol

Rt Rev Nicholas Holtam

Bishop of Salisbury

Lord Lisvane

Sir Tony Baldry

Frank Field

Terry Waite

Rev Jonathan Aitken

Simon Barrow

Director, Ekklesia

Richard Scorer

Head of Abuse Law, Slater & Gordon Andrew Graystone

Rev Angela Tilby

Canon Emeritus, Christ Church, Oxford

Rev Canon Professor Paul S Fiddes

Professor of Systematic Theology,

University of Oxford

Professor Iain R Torrance Pro-chancellor, University of Aberdeen and 47 others; see