Archbishop of York ‘regrets’ that abuse scandal priest was reappointed twice | Global News Avenue

An Anglican priest at the center of a sex abuse case was twice reappointed to senior posts while the Archbishop of York was Bishop of Chelmsford, the BBC can reveal.

one A previous BBC survey showed How David Tudor remains in office nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first informed of concerns about him.

New information shows Tudor’s contract as an Essex district dean was renewed in 2013 and 2018, when Mr Cottrell knew he had paid compensation to a woman who said she had been abused by him as a child.

The Archbishop of York said he regretted the way the matter had been handled, with a spokesman saying “he acknowledged that the matter could have been handled differently”.

They added that “all risks surrounding David Tudor are regularly reviewed” and were a “primary focus”.

Rachel Ford, who told the inquest she was groomed by Tudor as a child, said renewing his contract as district governor would be “an insult to all his victims”.

Ms Ford added that if Mr Cottrell was responsible it reinforced her belief that he should resign.

The pressure on Cottrell comes as the Church of England is in turmoil after a damning report revealed how it covered up widespread abuse by barrister John Smith.

The report led to the resignation of the church’s top figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will temporarily take over his role for a few months over the New Year period.

A BBC investigation revealed Mr Cottrell was briefed on serious safeguarding issues at Tudor in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford.

These include 1988, when Tudor was jailed for six months for molesting three underage girls, but the conviction was quashed on a technicality. Mr Cottrell should also have known that Tudor had been banned from holding cabinet positions for five years.

By 2012, Mr Cottrell was also aware that Tudor had paid a £10,000 settlement to a woman who said she had been sexually abused by him since she was 11 years old. In 2018, the Church of England apologized to the woman and paid six-figure compensation to another alleged victim.

However, it was not until 2019 that police launched an investigation and the priest was suspended after another woman came forward to accuse Tudor of abusing her in the 1980s.

In his first response to the BBC inquiry, the Archbishop of York said he was “deeply sorry that we failed to act sooner” and insisted he acted at the first legal opportunity.

Cottrell also said he faced a “terrible and intolerable” situation that was “terrible to live in and manage”.

When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was in the second year of a five-year term as regional dean, a position that oversees 12 dioceses in Essex.

He was appointed to the position under another bishop despite working under a safeguarding agreement that prohibited him from being alone with children and from entering schools.

The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell, in 2013 and 2018, before he lost it in 2020 when his term expired. That title was not taken away from him.

A spokesman for the archbishop said he “accepts David Tudor’s continued responsibility as regional dean”.

The archbishop’s office said: “No one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as regional dean.”

Another Tudor victim, who did not want to be named, said she was “shocked and disappointed” when Cottrell was re-elected district dean twice during his tenure as Bishop of Chelmsford.

“These are not actions the bishop took in dealing with a situation he found intolerable, in fact, quite the opposite. I call on him to do the honorable thing and resign for the good of the church,” she said.

In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also appointed an honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.

The archbishop’s office insists this is because of changes in church policy during Cottrell’s time as bishop of Chelmsford, which meant regional deans were automatically made honorary priests.

This is “not a promotion or a personal reward.”

However, a social media post from Tudor Canvey Island Diocese in July 2015 suggests this was seen as a reward.

Tudor’s “hard work, determination and commitment to this place has been recognized by the diocese and this new position in the church is well deserved,” it said.

The BBC also found that in leaked records of internal church meetings in 2018 and 2019, Tudor’s regional dean and emeritus titles were discussed, with suggestions that Mr Cottrell might immediately remove them.

In October 2018, at a meeting at Church House, the London headquarters of the Anglican Church, the Diocese of Chelmsford argued that if Tudor “can become a parish priest, he can take on other roles”.

A bishop from another diocese said “the Bishop of Chelmsford could immediately remove DT[David Tudor]from his canon and regional deanship”.

But in follow-up discussions in November 2018, the Diocese of Chelmsford said this would not be appropriate because “it would be difficult to remove the titles without explaining why”.

We asked Mr Cottrell’s office why he had not acted on the proposal to remove the Tudor title. We were told it would be “inappropriate to comment on any confidential records or decisions made during the caucus process.”

The investigation also highlighted the important role played by former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.

We revealed Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor’s return to the priesthood after being suspended in 1989 and agreed that Tudor’s name would be removed from the list of clergy facing disciplinary action. He also defended the priest.

After the BBC informed the former Archbishop of Canterbury of this information, he wrote to relinquish his “officiating license”, ending more than 65 years of ministry in the Church of England. Lord Carey made the announcement on Tuesday.

In October 2024, Tudor admitted sexual misconduct and was fired from the church. He never responded to the BBC’s attempts to speak to him.