Exclusive | Church Abuse Scandal: Bishop accuses bishop of sexual harassment – Channel 4 News
29 Jan 2025

Exclusive | Church Abuse Scandal: Bishop accuses bishop of sexual harassment

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Channel 4 News understands that John Perumbalath, the bishop of Liverpool, was accused of sexually harassing a female bishop – and it wasn’t the first time that allegations had been made against him.

Warning: this report contains some distressing testimony.

The Church of England is in crisis after a series of abuse scandals. Now Channel 4 News can reveal a shocking new development which raises serious questions about the conduct of a senior serving bishop – and fresh allegations of a coverup by the man currently leading the church.

Channel 4 News understands that John Perumbalath, the bishop of Liverpool, was accused of sexually harassing a female bishop – and it wasn’t the first time that allegations had been made against him.

Author Andrew Graystone advocates for victims of church abuse. Last summer two women came to him separately with allegations against the same man – the bishop of Liverpool. The clergy woman – one of 31 female Bishops – informed senior clergy and then the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell himself in 2023.

Then last year she also made a formal complaint – but a judge refused to allow it because more than a year had passed since the alleged harassment. But the bishop who made the complaint was unaware that she wasn’t John Perumbalath’s only alleged victim.

We can reveal he was accused of sexually assaulting another woman, in his previous job as Bishop of Bradwell in Essex, and was interviewed voluntarily under caution by police in March last year.

Right Reverend John Perumbalath, Bishop of Liverpool
Right Reverend John Perumbalath, Bishop of Liverpool

We’ve spoken to the woman who reported Bishop John to the police and she gave us a detailed written account of what she says happened. She was involved in the Church in the Chelmsford diocese and told us that between 2019 and 2023 he repeatedly kissed her without consent and groped her.

In March 2019 at a Chelmsford diocese away day she recalls the first alleged sexual assault:

“He held me there and kissed me forcefully on my mouth, which I did not like and I did not want. I tried to move away, but he was holding my head too tightly. I could feel his mouth pressing on my mouth. I could feel some of his saliva, and the texture of his beard around my mouth.”

In May 2022 at the end of a meeting, she claims he groped her:

“As he was letting go of hugging me, he ran his hands past the side of my breasts on both sides, with a medium pressure, until he reached the edge of the areola.”

And in January 2023, at a music evening in the chapel, she said:

“He pressed his face against my face, said ‘I love you’ quietly in my ear, and moved his mouth to just below my ear, on the pulse point on my neck. He opened his mouth, took a piece of my skin between his lips, and let go.”

We read parts of the woman’s statement to the Reverend Robert Thompson, who sits on the highest governing body of the Church, the General Synod.

He said it was “a really detailed account of what is a very serious sexual assault, and it’s an allegation that would very definitely need to be investigated, and until that point, the bishop should really step back from the ministry.”

Physically shaking, the woman told her husband what she says happened and immediately reported Bishop John’s behaviour to her local vicar, who informed the Archdeacon. She was put in touch with the Church’s National Safeguarding team. But by that point, Bishop John’s promotion to the Liverpool diocese had already been confirmed by the Church.

“It could well be another instance of a church cover up.”
– Reverend Robert Thompson

I’m told that members of the committee in charge of approving Bishop John’s promotion to Liverpool were unaware of a question mark over his conduct and are now furious they weren’t told. In addition he allegedly failed to demonstrate that he was competent in safeguarding and therefore didn’t secure the majority vote required for his appointment. It’s claimed that Stephen Cottrell and another bishop put pressure on some committee members to overturn the vote.

It’s unclear what reasons were given for Bishop John failing his safeguarding competency test.  And the Church disputes this version of events saying voting is by secret ballot.

The Reverend Robert Thompson told us:

“If there are allegations that the pressure was put on the crowd a nominations committee, because there was, for example, evidence before the committee that there were safeguarding issues around any particular vision, and the archbishop in question, in relation to that area of pressure on those that is something that really is very severe indeed, and something which would really need to be investigated.”

Reverend Robert Thompson
Reverend Robert Thompson

Just weeks after he stepped in to lead the Church of England following Justin Welby’s unprecedented resignation, these disturbing allegations raise fresh concerns too about Archbishop Stephen’s own fitness for office.

Stephen Cottrell and John Perumbalath were both bishops together in the Chelmsford diocese. And we can disclose that Archbishop Stephen knew of the sexual assault allegations after Bishop John had been promoted but before Bishop John was enthroned in Liverpool in April 2023.

Right Reverend John Perumbalath (L) and Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
Right Reverend John Perumbalath (L) and Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

In a letter the month before to Bishop John’s alleged assault victim, Archbishop Stephen said of John Perumbalath: “I did know that an allegation had been made against JP but…I didn’t know who had made it.”

He promised to share her allegations with the Church national safeguarding team “to ensure behaviours like this are properly dealt with and learned from.”

Andrew Graystone told us:

“In most areas of life, if you were a head teacher of a secondary school or a consultant in a hospital, there is no doubt that the person against whom these allegations have been made would be stood down in a neutral way whilst they were investigated and dealt with. The Church may say that they have investigated these allegations. They think it’s all fine, but at no point in that process did they choose to step John Perumbalath back from his responsibilities.”

Author and victim advocate Andrew Graystone
Author and victim advocate Andrew Graystone

Bishop John’s career continued seemingly unchecked. Feeling let down by the church, the woman we’ve spoken to decided to go to the police, making a statement in November 2023. Extraordinarily, the following March, Bishop John was interviewed voluntarily, but under caution.

The police took no further action because of insufficient evidence.

The Church has funded therapy for the woman. She says Archbishop Stephen has offered an apology but none has so far been forthcoming.  Archbishop Stephen has already faced multiple calls to quit over the way he handled past abuse cases. His critics say this is the final straw.

The Reverend Robert Thompson said:

“It could well be another instance of a church cover up. I think one of the difficulties at the heart of the top of our church is that there is a protectionist culture between bishops in relation to bishops behavior. And lots of us know that happens all the time. If this was an ordinary clergy person, they would be treated in a very different way, I think.”

Graystone added:

“The church seems to fail to deal with these situations consistently, perhaps because they don’t have the processes in place, perhaps because they can’t believe that they have alleged offenders like this working in their midst.”

To this day John Perumbalath remains a bishop, and is currently awaiting a seat in the House of Lords. Married to a maths teacher, he is one of just two bishops sitting on a commission overseeing clergy discipline. Senior members of the Synod, told us they were appalled and wanted him to face up to his own shortcomings.

The Bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath told us:

“I have consistently denied the allegations made against me by both complainants. I have complied with any investigation from the National Safeguarding Team. Whilst I don’t believe I have done anything wrong, I have taken seriously the lessons learnt through this process addressing how my actions can be perceived by others. I will comply with any investigation deemed necessary. I take safeguarding very seriously and work hard to provide proper leadership in this area.”

Church of England response:

A Church of England spokesperson said the complaint “was made after Bishop John Perumbalath had formally and legally become Bishop of Liverpool. The National Safeguarding Team…concluded that there were no ongoing safeguarding concerns, but a learning outcome was identified with which the bishop fully engaged.”

They added:

“The information brought by the second complainant was explored and assessed not to be a safeguarding matter but a matter of alleged misconduct. The second complainant did not bring a CDM [Clergy Discipline Measure] complaint within the one-year deadline. She later applied for permission to bring it after the deadline, which the Archbishop of York fully supported. However, this was refused by an independent judge, the Deputy President of Tribunals.”

Watch more here:

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