Church of England sacks independent abuse panel

The Church of England has sacked a panel of experts who provided independent oversight of how it dealt with abuse.

The Archbishops' Council confirmed it was "ending the contracts" of all three board members - acting chair Meg Munn, Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves.

The latter two recently claimed the Church had been obstructive and interfered with their work.

The Church said relations between them and senior bishops had "broken down".

In a statement, it referred to a "widely reported" dispute between two members of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) and the Church.

Ms Sanghera and Mr Reeves claimed in April the Church had refused to share data with them and denied them their own computers, according to the Telegraph.

They told the newspaper there had been "clear interference" with their work and described working with church officials as "an uphill battle".

They had also objected to the appointment of Ms Munn, who also holds a position within the Church.

In the statement, the Church thanked Ms Munn for her work and asked her to continue in an interim role.

Speaking after his dismissal, Mr Reeves said: "This is a deeply disappointing decision for those who want genuinely independent scrutiny of safeguarding in the Church of England."

Writing on Twitter, he said the panel "had one overriding objective; to work independently and free from undue influence".

He continued: "That shouldn't be a problem for any institution with sound governance, survivor focus, and proper motivation."

Ms Sanghera wrote on social media: "This is absolutely appalling. We have spoken with truth and conviction, got on with what we were contracted to do. Now this?"

In a joint statement, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said: "We bitterly regret that we have reached this point and the Archbishops' Council has not reached this decision lightly.

"We know this is a serious setback and we do not shy away from that - we lament it."

They said there was "no prospect of resolving the disagreement and that it is getting in the way of the vital work of serving victims and survivors".

The Church said: "The Council recognises that this news will be concerning and unsettling to victims, survivors and others."

The Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) was set up in 2021, following a scathing report the previous year by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

It concluded the Church had created a culture where abusers "could hide".

The ISB describes its mission as "to hold the Church to account, publicly if needs be, for any failings which are preventing good safeguarding from happening".

Earlier this month it published its first review into the way in which the Church handled one abuse survivor's case.

The review criticised "significant consequences of the lack of strategic oversight and management of the response to survivors with chronic and enduring needs".