'Church seems less safe' says bishop after abuse panel sacked

A senior Church of England bishop responsible for safeguarding has told the BBC she does not "entirely trust the church" on tackling abuse.

The Bishop of Birkenhead, the Right Reverend Julie Conalty spoke after the Church sacked a panel of experts overseeing its safeguarding.

She later tweeted: "Today the church seems less safe".

The Church said its relations with the two of the experts on the panel had broken down.

The Archbishops' Council announced on Wednesday it was "ending the contracts" of all three members of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) it had set up to provide oversight of how the Church deals with abuse.

Two of the panel - Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves - recently told the Daily Telegraph working with church officials was "an uphill battle".

Their sacking has been met with criticism from some survivors and their advocates and now some members of the clergy.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World At One, Bishop Conalty, who is the Church's deputy head of safeguarding with a focus on survivor engagement, said: "I think culturally we are resistant as a church to accountability, to criticism.

"And therefore I don't entirely trust the church, even though I'm a key part of it and a leader within it, because I see the way the wind blows is always in a particular direction."

The bishop said "right at the moment it is less accountable" and "we have definitely taken a step back".

She continued to say the decision causes survivors - who had a "good degree of trust" in the board - "distress and anger" as the independent body has "seamlessly disappeared before their eyes".

Alison Coulter, lay member of the Archbishops' Council, said the decision to sack the panel was not "taken lightly or easily" and the Church remains committed to hearing the voices of victims and survivors.

She told the same World At One show: "There was a breakdown in our working relationship, which is really regrettable.

"I don't want to blame anyone but we, the Archbishops' Council, felt we had no choice. There had been a dispute and the Council had been seeking to resolve that in good faith, but the two board members were reluctant to engage in those discussions. "

She would not discuss the details of the dispute but added: "We have been doing our best to work constructively. We haven't found compatibility through this framework."

ISB was part of the Church's response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse report in 2020, which found the Church of England was a "hiding place for abusers".

Asked if there were still places where abusers can hide in the Church, Mrs Coulter paused and said: "I can't with my hand on my heart say there isn't, but I do know… we want the church to be a safe place for everyone."

Speaking to the Telegraph last month, Ms Sanghera -who founded a charity supporting forced marriage victims - and Mr Reeves - a specialist in abuse in organisations - raised the alarm over "interference" with their work.

They also raised their objections to the appointment of Meg Munn as acting chairwoman of their three-strong board.

Former MP Ms Munn has been the independent chairwoman of the Church's National Safeguarding Panel for the past five years. Although her new role has been ended, she has been asked by the Church to continue in an interim role to provide "business continuity".

Mr Reeves tweeted on Thursday: "It's overwhelming to see people standing up for independence in safeguarding. It's been humbling to receive all the messages, in the hundreds now, expressing support for the work that Jas Sanghera and I have been doing - with the support of so many others - recently.

Ms Sanghera tweeted: "We have not been removed because of a breakdown in relationships. I have advocated for victims and survivors for three decades and never experienced anything like this."

The pair were also critical of how the news was delivered, claiming they were not given time to prepare victims for the news.

Additional reporting by Andre Rhoden-Paul

You can hear the full report from The World At One on BBC Sounds.