A FORMER Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, Anthony Boateng, who was suspended in 2022, has expressed concern about how allegations of his conduct were handled, stating that they were “neither disclosed to me in detail nor properly tested before serious sanctions were imposed”.
Mr Boateng, then a local preacher in the Westminster Circuit, was elected as Vice-President in 2022. In 2023, after a report appeared in The Times, the Methodist Church confirmed that he had been suspended as a “neutral act” to “enable investigations to be completed” (News, 16 June 2023).
This month, Mr Boateng released a statement: “The premature and unjustified suspension cast a shadow over my unblemished reputation and decades of dedicated service to the Methodist Church UK.” In the following months, he had “remained in the dark about the specific nature of the complaints, which severely restricted my ability to defend myself”.
After internal processes, he had been “fully cleared”, he said. “While this effectively exonerates me, the damage done to my reputation, my ministry, and my career cannot simply be undone. . . Safeguarding is essential, but it must be balanced with principles of transparency, due process, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.”
On Tuesday of last week, he said that he had been invited “back into the fold”, through an invitation to attend Conference and to discuss his future ministry, but without the offer of being publicly cleared or receiving an apology. “My reputation is on the line,” he said.
The next day, a statement from the Methodist Church said that the matter had been “risk assessed and subsequently reviewed by the church’s Safeguarding Committee. The processes in this case concluded in February 2024 and all relevant people were advised of the outcome and recommendations of the Safeguarding Committee. Discussions were held with Mr Boateng regarding a statement on the outcome of the investigation but agreement could not be reached on this. It is hoped that further progress can be made should he choose to meet with the Conference Officers as suggested regarding his return to ministry.”