On Tuesday, the case of Canon Andrew Hindley was the subject of a BBC “File on Four” broadcast on Radio 4 by Aleem Maqbool and Steve Swann; it was also covered extensively on the BBC website, here. Shortly afterwards, the Church of England issued a  press release, as follows:

“The case highlighted on the BBC today is complicated and very difficult for everyone involved particularly those who came forward.  A number of allegations were made about the Canon over a number of years and a risk assessment was conducted according to the House of Bishops 2017 safeguarding guidance.  In the event, none of the allegations resulted either in a conviction in the criminal courts, or in a determination of misconduct in the independent Church courts through the Clergy Discipline Measure.

He was removed from office on health grounds by the former Bishop of Blackburn in 2021, under the Church Dignitaries (Retirement) Measure 1949, but the Canon then brought a claim in the High Court for judicial review of that decision and payment was made in settlement of that claim. The Church of England is currently reviewing the disciplinary procedure for members of clergy (Clergy Discipline Measure), as recommended by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA and a review of the risk assessment regulations and guidance is under way.”

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York added:

“We are truly sorry when survivors are let down by the Church. We were both made aware of this case, including the concerning background and the challenges caused by statutory and Church processes ending with no further action.

We absolutely believe that there is no place in ministry for people who are a risk or pose a risk to others and continue to work to ensure that our systems are made ever stronger and more robust.

This case highlights the complexity of our structures and processes and is just one example of why we asked Professor Alexis Jay, the former chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, to provide options and recommendations for how further independence of safeguarding within the Church of England might be achieved. This work is now being taken forward.

As the Bishop of Blackburn told the BBC, the Church has made huge strides in safeguarding in the past 10 years, particularly in listening to the voices of survivors and victims. However, this case, which goes back many years, shows that we are still working to get our processes right, and we must learn from the mistakes of the past.”

The Dean of Blackburn, the Very Revd Peter Howell-Jones, subsequently issued this statement on behalf of the Cathedral:

“The Cathedral recognises and fully accepts that there were failures, apologises for them, and has learned important lessons.  In October 2023 the Cathedral Chapter made a statement about the lessons learned from this case and it can be found here.

Since that time the Cathedral has worked and continues to work assiduously to improve its safeguarding culture, policies and procedures to ensure everyone is, and feels, safe.

Regretfully, the Cathedral cannot undo the pain and hurt of the past, and our thoughts are with those survivors whose trauma may now be re-lived as a result of this programme.

The programme gave details about legitimate safeguarding concerns that were raised repeatedly over a twenty-five-year period and highlighted the systemic nature of the institutional failures within the Church of England that prevented Blackburn Cathedral from dealing effectively with the concerns.

There remains work to be done for these institutional hurdles to be overcome.

The programme disclosed that a sum of money was paid to the individual by the Church of England. No Blackburn Cathedral funds were involved in this payment.”

The Bishop of Blackburn added his own thoughts here. He suggested that three issues need to be addressed urgently:;

• the status of risk assessments: “The church will not be safe unless we are able to remove clergy and officers who demonstrably pose a danger to children and vulnerable adults”.
• the terms and condition of clergy: “in my view the best way ahead is for clergy to become employees of the Diocesan Board of Finance with all the transparency and mutual accountability that offers”.
• replacing the Clergy Discipline Measure with the new Clergy Conduct Measure passing through Synod.

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