THE Charity Commission has censured the dioceses of Liverpool and Chelmsford for their handling of safeguarding allegations against the former Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath.
The Commission found that there was a “failure to properly handle safeguarding allegations and to maintain appropriate oversight of safeguarding” by the trustees of both the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) and Liverpool DBF — the charitable bodies which run the dioceses.
Dr Perumbalath resigned last year after allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault were made public (News, 31 January 2025). He denied the allegations, which related to time in Liverpool and his previous tenure as Area Bishop of Bradwell in the diocese of Chelmsford, and suggested that he had been subject to a “trial by media”.
Trustees in both dioceses who knew of the allegations “failed to take action that would have allowed the trustee boards to fully consider any risks and make a decision on the appropriate action to take”, according to Friday’s statement from the Charity Commission.
In a statement, the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, and the diocesan head of safeguarding, Amanda Knight, said that they “respectfully disagree with some of the Charity Commission’s conclusions”. They describe the issuing of an official warning as “disproportionate”.
They described the response of the diocese of Chelmsford to the allegations as “robust and survivor-led”, and said that they believed that the matter was handled appropriately. “We escalated the matter and sought appropriate advice,” said the statement — and this included supporting the Church National Safeguarding Team (NST) when it took over the case.
“Operational management of cases is delegated to experienced safeguarding professionals and those with executive responsibilities,” they said. They suggested that giving trustees greater oversight of individual cases might have “implications for plans to move towards greater independence of safeguarding in the Church of England”. The diocese was now “enhancing procedures” to give trustees stronger oversight of individual cases in a way that protected confidentiality.
The Charity Commission website states that there are currently 26 trustees of the Chelmsford DBF. The Commission “recognises the need for sensitive handling of serious allegations among large trustee bodies”, said the statement. Nonetheless, there were “insufficient processes and procedures in place to ensure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those who come into contact with the charity”.
In January 2023, a woman in Chelmsford diocese raised concerns about Dr Perumbalath’s behaviour with an Archdeacon, who escalated the concerns but did not consider it to be a safeguarding matter because the woman was not considered to be a vulnerable adult. In February, Dr Francis-Dehqani sought advice from the Bishop at Lambeth as to how to proceed. Meanwhile, a priest outside the diocese, to whom the woman had also spoken, referred the matter to the National Safeguarding Team, who took over the case in February 2024.
This week, the woman said that she was “disappointed” by the diocese’s response to the Charity Commission. “It seemed very defensive, and I was most surprised to see the claim that the process was ‘survivor led’, which was not my experience at all.” The Archdeacon had, she said, been “very supportive, caring and compassionate”. But more steps could have been taken to provide support and escalate the matter.
In the case of Liverpool diocese, Maggie Swinson, who chairs the DBF, said that the trustees accepted the Commission’s findings and apologised for the shortcomings identified.
“We have already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes, and we commit to ongoing learning, accountability, and continuous improvement,” she said. “The diocese of Liverpool is dedicated to ensuring that the Church is a safe and inclusive environment where concerns can be raised in a culture of accountability, transparency, and compassion.”
This was echoed by Dr Francis-Dehqani and Ms Knight, who said: “We want to reassure all those who are victims and survivors that safeguarding is a priority in all our work, and we are committed to keeping people safe across the diocese of Chelmsford.”
THE chief executive of the Charity Commission, David Holdsworth, said in a statement on Friday: “Trustees must be able to effectively challenge the behaviour of powerful individuals, including where that power derives from spiritual leadership.”
One of Dr Perumbalath’s accusers was the Suffragan Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Revd Bev Mason, who was critical of the way her complaint had been handled (News, 30 January 2025). Her complaint was ruled out of time under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM), as it was not brought within a year of the alleged incident. Bishop Mason formally resigned in September last year, after almost two years away from the diocese (News, 5 September 2025).
The other complaints against Dr Perumbalath dated to his time as the Bishop of Bradwell, in the diocese of Chelmsford, and related to three alleged incidents between 2019 and January 2023 (News, 28 January 2025).
A statement from Church House in 2025 said that a complaint had been brought to the NST in early 2023, after Dr Perumbalath had become Bishop of Liverpool, and concluded that there was “not sufficient evidence to bring a safeguarding-related complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM)”.
The woman who made the allegation was offered support to bring a complaint of her own, the statement said.
On Friday, Mr Holdsworth said that the Charity Commission would “further engage with both charities as they continue to take steps to address our concerns”.
The decision to censure the dioceses underlined “the need for adequate reporting mechanisms back to all trustees when safeguarding responsibilities are delegated to smaller groups or individuals, so that trustee boards can fulfil their collective duty to help keep people safe,” he said.
Mr Holdsworth previously made a public call on members of the General Synod, urging them to “expedite the action required” before a meeting at which they made decisions about future safeguarding structures (News, 24 January 2025).
This story was updated on 21 January