The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is facing calls to resign over his handling of sexual assault allegations just days before he is set to take temporary charge of the Church of England.
A BBC investigation claims that whilst Cottrell was Bishop of Chelmsford, he allowed priest David Tudor to remain in post despite knowing he had been barred by the Church from being alone with children and that he had paid compensation to a victim.
A spokesperson for Mr Cottrell claimed that he did not have the legal authority to sack Tudor who was only banned from the Ministry two months ago after admitting to two historic sex allegations.
Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle, said it was “impossible” for Mr Cottrell to remain Archbishop of York or for him to lead the Church of England.
Mr Cottrell is due to take on many of the soon-to-step-down Archbishop of Canterbury’s official functions temporarily from January 6, when Justin Welby quits over failures in the handling of a separate sex abuse case in the Church.
A woman who was paid £10,000 compensation by Tudor over claims that he sexually assaulted her as a child says that Cottrell’s failure to act result in his resignation.
Tudor worked for the Church of England for over 46 years, in London, Surrey and Essex, rising from curate to honorary canon.
In 1988, Tudor was convicted of indecently assaulting three girls and was jailed for six months but had his conviction quashed after it was found that the judge had misdirected the jury.
[Ed: Extraordinary. Church or crime syndicate?]
Source: Archbishop told to resign just days before taking charge of Church of England