Church rules five allegations are ‘unfounded’ Statue to honour bishop after claims of abuse dismissed

A late bishop will be honoured with a statue at Canterbury Cathedral after being cleared of historic child abuse.

An unfinished sculpture of George Bell, the former Bishop of Chichester who was Dean of Canterbury between 1924 and 1929, has stood in the church stoneyard since 2015.

It comes after the Church of England ruled that the five allegations of abuse were unfounded. Plans for the memorial will now go ahead in recognition of the bishop’s work in Canterbury.

The claims emerged after a public apology was issued in 2015 and compensation paid to a woman who accused the churchman, who died in 1958, of abusing her as a young child in the 1940s.

Several others then came forward with further information after the publication of a review into the church’s handling of the allegation in December 2017, which criticised it for “rushing to judgement”.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for the mistakes and described Bishop Bell as “one of the most important figures in the history of the Church of England in the 20th century”.

He said: “The reputation of Bishop Bell is significant, and I am clear that his memory and the work he did is of as much importance to the Church today as it was in the past. I recognise this has been an extremely difficult period for all concerned and I apologise equally to all those who have come forward and shared stories of abuse where we have not responded well.”

He added: “It is still the case that there is a woman who came forward with a serious allegation relating to an historic case of abuse and this cannot be ignored or swept under the carpet.”

Cathedral spokesman Jane Walker said: “The statue of George Bell, Dean of Canterbury between 1924 and 1929 and founder of The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral, was begun in 2015 but not completed. It is the intention of the Cathedral that the work should now be finished and the statue installed.”

‘He is one of the most important figures in the history of the Church of England’