Church sexual abuse victims reject ‘very cosy’ watchdog

CHURCH of England abuse victims have criticised archbishops after they appointed their own official as head of an independent safeguarding board.

They allege Meg Munn, the former Labour MP who has been made acting chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board, is “too cosy” with the Church.

She was appointed following the resignation of Prof Maggie Atkinson, who had faced complaints from abuse survivors that she broke data protection laws and breached both confidentiality and privacy of documentation. Two of the allegations were upheld by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Ms Munn, a former Foreign Office minister, already holds the post of chair of the National Safeguarding Panel within the Church of England, and sits on the National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG).

One victim advocate said: “So, as chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) she is charged with scrutinising her own work on the NSSG. It is all very cosy.”

A victim of John Smyth, a “sadomasochistic” barrister who groomed boys at Christian summer camps, added that victims of Church of England-linked abuse are furious at the appointment.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said: “This appointment shows there is not a hair’s breadth between the CofE hierarchy and the Independent (sic) Safeguarding Board.

“Meg Munn has been particularly ineffective at the NSP, and her appointment has been met by victims with despair. She is about as “institutional” as it gets, and victims fear the ISB will be subsumed by the swamp of CofE mediocrity.”

Another victim added: “I’d be hardpushed to think of anyone in the entire country less appropriate to take on that role than Meg Munn.”

Richard Scorer, head of abuse law at Slater and Gordon, said: “Has the CofE not considered the obvious conflict of interest? How can someone be both chair of the National Safeguarding Panel, part of the system, and chair of a supposedly independent body, the Independent Safeguarding Board?”

Ms Munn said it is “an honour” to be asked to take on her new role and added: “I have been the independent chair of the NSP since September 2018.

“The panel includes three survivor representatives whose voices and experiences are integral to our work of scrutinising the Church’s safeguarding policies and procedures. I will bring this experience to the work that I will be doing in the ISB.”