THE Charity Commission has censured the dioceses of Liverpool and Chelmsford for his or her handling of safeguarding allegations against the previous Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath.
The Commission found that there was a “failure to properly handle safeguarding allegations and to keep up appropriate oversight of safeguarding” by the trustees of each the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and Liverpool DBF — the charitable bodies which run the dioceses.
Dr Perumbalath resigned last yr after allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault were made public (News, 31 January 2025). He denied the allegations, which related to time in Liverpool and his previous tenure as Area Bishop of Bradwell within the diocese of Chelmsford, and suggested that he had been subject to a “trial by media”.
Trustees in each dioceses who knew of the allegations “did not take motion that will have allowed the trustee boards to completely consider any risks and make a choice on the suitable motion to take”, based on Friday’s statement from the Charity Commission.
In an announcement, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, and the diocesan head of safeguarding, Amanda Knight, said that they “respectfully disagree with a few of the Charity Commission’s conclusions”. They describe the issuing of an official warning as “disproportionate”.
They described the response of the diocese of Chelmsford to the allegations as “robust and survivor-led”, and said that they believed that the matter was handled appropriately. “We escalated the matter and sought appropriate advice,” said the statement — and this included supporting the Church National Safeguarding Team (NST) when it took over the case.
“Operational management of cases is delegated to experienced safeguarding professionals and people with executive responsibilities,” they said. They suggested that giving trustees greater oversight of individual cases may need “implications for plans to maneuver towards greater independence of safeguarding within the Church of England”. The diocese was now “enhancing procedures” to provide trustees stronger oversight of individual cases in a way that protected confidentiality.
The Charity Commission website states that there are currently 26 trustees of the Chelmsford DBF. The Commission “recognises the necessity for sensitive handling of great allegations amongst large trustee bodies”, said the statement. Nonetheless, there have been “insufficient processes and procedures in place to make sure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those that come into contact with the charity”.
In the case of Liverpool diocese, Maggie Swinson, who chairs the DBF, said that the trustees accepted the Commission’s findings and apologised for the shortcomings identified.
“We have already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes, and we commit to ongoing learning, accountability, and continuous improvement,” she said. “The diocese of Liverpool is devoted to making sure that the Church is a protected and inclusive environment where concerns may be raised in a culture of accountability, transparency, and compassion.”
This was echoed by Dr Francis-Dehqani and Ms Knight, who said: “We wish to reassure all those that are victims and survivors that safeguarding is a priority in all our work, and we’re committed to keeping people protected across the diocese of Chelmsford.”
THE chief executive of the Charity Commission, David Holdsworth, said in an announcement on Friday: “Trustees must have the opportunity to effectively challenge the behaviour of powerful individuals, including where that power derives from spiritual leadership.”
One of Dr Perumbalath’s accusers was the Suffragan Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Revd Bev Mason, who was critical of the way in which her criticism had been handled (News, 30 January 2025). Her criticism was ruled out of time under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM), because it was not brought inside a yr of the alleged incident. Bishop Mason formally resigned in September last yr, after almost two years away from the diocese (News, 5 September 2025).
The other complaints against Dr Perumbalath dated to his time because the Bishop of Bradwell, within the diocese of Chelmsford, and related to a few alleged incidents between 2019 and January 2023 (News, 28 January 2025).
A press release from Church House in 2025 said that a criticism had been dropped at the NST in early 2023, after Dr Perumbalath had change into Bishop of Liverpool, and concluded that there was “not sufficient evidence to bring a safeguarding-related criticism under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM)”.
The woman who made the allegation was offered support to bring a criticism of her own, the statement said.
On Friday, Mr Holdsworth said that the Charity Commission would “further engage with each charities as they proceed to take steps to handle our concerns”.
The decision to censure the dioceses underlined “the necessity for adequate reporting mechanisms back to all trustees when safeguarding responsibilities are delegated to smaller groups or individuals, in order that trustee boards can fulfil their collective duty to assist keep people protected,” he said.
Mr Holdsworth previously made a public call on members of the General Synod, urging them to “expedite the motion required” before a gathering at which they made decisions about future safeguarding structures (News, 24 January 2025).
