Bishop of Liverpool quits after sex assault revelations

The bishop of Liverpool, John Perumbalath, has announced his retirement after allegations of sexual assault and harassment made against him came to light.

The allegations made by two women were outlined in a Channel 4 investigation broadcast this week.

One of the women claimed that Perumbalath sexually assaulted her on separate occasions between 2019 and 2023 in the Chelmsford diocese whilst he was bishop of Bradwell.

Her allegations include instances of non-consensual kissing, groping and other inappropriate behaviour, which she reported to senior Church figures, including archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, in 2023.

Another woman, reported to be a female bishop, also told Channel 4 she was sexually harassed by Perumbalath.

One of the alleged victims said she felt deterred by the Church's National Safeguarding Team from bringing a complaint against Perumbalath under the Church's discipline measures.

Perumbalath was questioned by police under caution in March 2024. The police took no action due to insufficient evidence.

Perumbalath denies the allegations.

Archbishop of York aware of allegations before promotion

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has admitted to knowing about the allegations for some time before Perumbalath was enthroned as bishop of Liverpool.

Despite this knowledge, Cottrell made no intervention to halt Perumbalath's enthronement, and played a prominent role in the ceremony as leader of the province.

Cottrell has already faced multiple calls to quit over his alleged failure to handle abuse cases properly. In his previous role as bishop of Chelmsford, Cottrell allowed priest David Tudor to remain in post the despite knowing he had been barred by the Church from being alone with children and had paid compensation to a sexual abuse victim.

Members of the Crown Nominations Commission for Liverpool have also said Cottrell and another senior bishop put pressure on them to disregard Perumbalath's failure to pass a required safeguarding competency test, leading to him initially failing to secure the necessary two-thirds majority for election.

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said she was told repeatedly that failing such a safeguarding competency test would mean "automatic disqualification from being considered for a diocesan role".

Perumbalath's resignation adds to a growing crisis in the Church of England. In November, Justin Welby resigned as archbishop of Canterbury after a review revealed he "could and should" have done more in response to of sadistic abuse by John Smyth.

NSS: 'Church record on abuse shows need for disestablishment'

National Secular Society spokesperson Jack Rivington said: "This disgraceful and chaotic affair further undermines the credibility of the Church of England.

"Given the Church's troubling history of covering up abuse, it has no place near the levers of power. The automatic right of 26 of its bishops to seats in the legislature should be removed and the church itself disestablished.

"We call on Stephen Cottrell to be transparent about what he knew regarding the allegations against John Perumbalath and when he became aware of them."