Archbishop of York will not face action over handling of abuse case

The Archbishop of York will not face disciplinary action over his handling of a priest who faced sexual abuse allegations.

Stephen Cottrell, the Church of England’s second most senior cleric, faced criticism for not acting quickly enough when he was bishop of Chelmsford over priest David Tudor, whom he allowed to remain in post despite him having been barred from being alone with children by the Church and having paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.

Tudor was subsequently banned from ministry for life in 2024 after admitting what the Church of England described as serious sexual abuse involving two girls aged 15 and 16.

He was suspended from ministry for five years in 1988 having admitted, according to a tribunal document, having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met when she was a pupil at a school where he was chaplain.

He returned in 1994 until more abuse claims were made against him in 2019.

Mr Cottrell, while bishop of Chelmsford, twice renewed Tudor’s contract as area dean in Essex despite having been “fully briefed” about his past.

But the president of Church tribunals Sir Stephen Males concluded in a finding published on Thursday that although “some mistakes were made in the handling of David Tudor’s case” there was no case for Mr Cottrell to answer at a disciplinary tribunal.

Mr Cottrell, responding to the finding, said: “We all have much to learn from this case. There are some things I wish I had done differently.”

One of Tudor’s alleged victims told the BBC that the decision not to hold a disciplinary hearing “sends a deeply troubling message about accountability” at the top of the Church.

On a claim that Mr Cottrell should have suspended Tudor, Sir Stephen wrote that he “had no power to remove or suspend David Tudor from ministry”.

He said that the “appalling” decision to allow Tudor to return to ministry had taken place “long before” Mr Cottrell became bishop of Chelmsford.

On criticism of Mr Cottrell’s decision to twice renew Tudor’s contract as area dean, Sir Stephen wrote that although they are “the most serious of the allegations against him”, a disciplinary tribunal could not reasonably find him guilty of misconduct.

He said: “They were mistaken and regrettable appointments, as the respondent himself now accepts.

“He should have appreciated that they would be regarded as deeply painful for victims and survivors of David Tudor.”

Sir Stephen added: “In the very difficult circumstances which the respondent had inherited from his predecessor, I conclude that they were made in good faith and do not amount to misconduct.”

Mr Cottrell said: “I welcome scrutiny of my decisions. We all have much to learn from this case. There are some things I wish I had done differently.

“I am sorry that the reappointment of Mr Tudor as area dean did not sufficiently consider the impact on those he had harmed.

“With today’s trauma-informed understanding – which rightly places greater emphasis on listening carefully to survivors and recognising the lasting harm caused by abuse – I would take a different approach now.”

He previously insisted he had inherited a “horrible and intolerable” situation, and “acted immediately” when fresh complaints were made about Tudor in 2019, adding that he had “no legal grounds” to suspend him before then.