The Church of England is facing fresh scrutiny as it reviews a long-overlooked complaint against the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury over her handling of an abuse allegation
The Church of England is examining a complaint against Dame Sarah Mullally, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, concerning her handling of an abuse allegation made against a London priest during her tenure as Bishop of London. The oversight emerged after Church authorities confirmed that a complaint lodged about her conduct in 2020 was neither progressed nor disclosed to her at the time, citing “administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes”.
Dame Sarah, who is due to assume office on 28 January, acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, stating that the victim had been “let down”. In a published statement she said: “While his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London, it is clear that a different complaint he subsequently made against me personally in 2020 was not properly dealt with.” She added that she was seeking assurances that processes at Lambeth Palace were now sufficiently robust: “I am seeking assurance that processes have been strengthened to ensure any complaint that comes into Lambeth Palace is responded to in a timely and satisfactory manner.”
The complainant, identified publicly only as N, spoke this week to the Premier Christian website, explaining that the mishandling of the case had significantly affected his mental health. Premier reported that it had seen evidence indicating that, when N first made allegations against a priest, Bishop Sarah contacted the priest involved — a move that would have breached the Church’s disciplinary procedures. While the Diocese of London did address the allegations against the priest, the subsequent complaint made personally against Dame Sarah was not dealt with under the Church’s formal processes.
Church authorities now say Lambeth Palace officials assumed N no longer wished to pursue the matter but did not confirm this with him. A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said officials had reached out to N to explain the next steps in the process, noting: “The Bishop of London was unaware of the matter, as the process never reached the stage at which she would have been informed of the complaint or its contents.” The spokesman added that the provincial registrar had apologised to those affected and that “urgent arrangements are now being made for the complaint to be considered according to the relevant statutory process”.
The timing of the revelation is particularly sensitive. Dame Sarah, a former NHS chief nurse who became a priest in 2006, made history in 2018 as the first woman appointed Bishop of London, the third most senior role in the Church of England. Her elevation to Archbishop of Canterbury — also a first for a woman — was announced in October following Justin Welby’s resignation amid a major safeguarding scandal.
Welby stepped down after an independent investigation found he “could and should” have reported the abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, a prominent Church figure whose assaults on boys and young men were documented as early as 2013. His departure left the Church without a permanent Archbishop of Canterbury for nearly a year, during which the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has assumed most of the duties in an interim capacity.
Cottrell, who served on the Crown Nominations Commission responsible for selecting Welby’s successor, has himself faced calls to resign over his handling of a separate abuse case — adding to the sense of institutional strain as the Church attempts to restore confidence in its safeguarding leadership.
The renewed scrutiny surrounding Dame Sarah’s imminent appointment underscores the Church’s ongoing struggle to confront its safeguarding failures, improve transparency and rebuild trust among survivors, congregations and clergy alike.
