WILTSHIRE POLICE “have been contacted by the Church of England regarding allegations of fraud” and an investigation is ongoing, the force confirmed this week.
The statement came a week after the Church Times revealed that the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Stephen Lake, had stepped back voluntarily as diocesan and resigned as a trustee of the Church Commissioners after “potential financial irregularities” were identified by an audit.
In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We can confirm we have been contacted by the Church of England regarding allegations of fraud. As an investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time. No arrests have been made.”
The news comes after it emerged, separately, early this month that the chief executive of the Church Commissioners, John Worth, was stepping down (News, 2 April). He took up the post in September. A note on the Church of England website did not give any context, but said that the chief operating officer, Rosie Slater-Carr, would take over as interim chief executive.
Earlier this week, when approached by the Church Times, Church House declined to answer questions about when or how the potential irregularities were discovered, which funds were concerned, and how long the audit was expected to take. No response was provided to a question about whether Mr Worth’s departure was connected to the story.
A pastoral letter sent by the Acting Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Karen Gorham, and the Bishop of Ramsbury, Dr Andrew Rumsey, on the evening of the original Church Times report, said: “The national Church has confirmed that a financial audit is being undertaken following allegations of potential financial irregularities in relation to two separate funds.”
The nature of the two funds has not been confirmed. Suffragan bishops’ housing is a matter for dioceses, but all other expenses incurred by the Bishops and their offices are paid by the Commissioners and are not included in the diocesan budget. Costs allocated to a bishop’s post include items such as the cost of their staff team as well as that of their office premises and housing.
The costs have been subject to scrutiny during Questions in the General Synod (News, 16 July 2021). In 2023, members were told that bishops’ working costs in 2022 stood at £21,470 on average. The average cost of maintaining bishops’ housing was £83,079 (26 see houses had more than six bedrooms). No bishops had chauffeurs, compared with 11 in 2015; 12 had gardeners. The average annual amount paid by the Commissioners to bishops for expenses or hospitality was £52,030 on “local spend” and £12,408 on meetings and hospitality.
Last year, members were told that £115.2 million had been allocated within the 2026-28 spending plans for bishops’ ministry costs, including £87.6 million for bishops’ ministry grants, £21.3 million for bishops’ housing and office premises, and £6.3 million for bishops’ legal fees.