Getty ImagesThe Church of England priest at the center of a sex abuse scandal was reappointed twice to a senior role as Bishop of Chelmsford during his time as Archbishop of York, the BBC can reveal.
Oh The BBC investigation revealed earlier. How David Tudor stayed in office nine years after Stephen Cottrell was first told of his concerns.
The new information shows that Tudor’s contract as area dean in Essex was renewed in 2013 and 2018, when Mr Cottrell knew he had paid a woman who says her He was also abused as a child.
The Archbishop of York said he regretted the handling of the matter, with a spokesman saying he “recognizes it could have been handled differently”.
He added that “all risks surrounding David Tudor were reviewed regularly” and that this was a “primary focus”.
Rachel Ford, who told the inquest that she was raised by Tudor as a child, said renewing her contract as area dean was “an insult to all of his victims.”
Ms Ford added that if the blame fell on Mr Cottrell, it reinforced her feeling that he should resign.
The pressure on Mr Cottrell comes at a time of turmoil in the Church of England following a damning report into how he covered up abuse by barrister John Smith.
The report led to the resignation of the church’s most senior figure, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. Mr Cottrell will take up his post temporarily for a few months in the new year.
A BBC investigation revealed that Mr Cottrell was briefed on serious security issues at Tudor in his first week as Bishop of Chelmsford.
These included Tudor being convicted of indecently assaulting three minor girls and sent to prison for six months in 1988, although that sentence was overturned on a technicality. was Mr Cottrell will also know that Tudor has imposed a five-year ban from ministry.
By 2012, Mr Cottrell also knew Tudor had paid £10,000 to a woman who says she was sexually abused from the age of 11. In 2018, the Church of England issued an apology and a six-figure settlement. Another alleged victim.
Yet the priest was only suspended in 2019 after a police investigation was launched after another woman came forward alleging Tudor had abused her in the 1980s.
Facebook/Canvey CofEWhen first responding to the BBC’s investigation, the Archbishop of York said he was “deeply sorry we were not able to act earlier”, insisting he had done the first legally available. Worked on the spot.
Mr Cottrell also said he had been faced with a “terrible and unbearable” situation and that it was “terrible to live with and manage”.
When Mr Cottrell became bishop in 2010, Tudor was in the second year of a five-year term as an area dean, a role overseeing 12 parishes in Essex.
His appointment to this position, under a different bishop, occurred despite him serving under a protective agreement that prevented him from being alone with children and entering schools.
The title was renewed twice under Mr Cottrell – in 2013 and 2018 – and he only lost the title when the term expired in 2020. It was not taken from them.
A spokesman for the archbishop said he “accepts responsibility for David Tudor to remain as area dean”.
“No one advised him that David Tudor should not continue as area dean,” the archbishop’s office said.
Another of Tudor’s victims, who did not want to be identified, said she was “shocked and disappointed” to hear of her time as area dean twice during Mr Cottrell’s tenure as Bishop of Chelmsford. Had happened.
“These are not the actions of a bishop that was intolerable to him, quite the opposite in fact. I call on him to do the honorable thing for the sake of the church and resign,” she says.
In 2015, under Mr Cottrell, Tudor was also made an honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.
The Archbishop’s office insisted it was due to a change in church policy during Mr Cottrell’s tenure as Bishop of Chelmsford, meaning area deans were automatically made honorary canons.
It was “not a promotion and a personal reward”.
However, a social media post from Tudor’s Canvey Island parish in July 2015 suggests it was seen as a prize there.
It said Tudor’s “hard work, commitment and commitment to this place has been recognized by the diocese and this new position in the church is very well deserved”.
The BBC has also seen evidence – in leaked minutes of internal church meetings in 2018 and 2019 – that Tudor’s titles of area dean and honorary canon were discussed and there was a suggestion that Mr Cottrell should immediately take them up. But could take it.
In October 2018, a meeting at Church House – the Church of England’s London headquarters – heard that the Chelmsford Diocese took the view that if Tudor “can be a parish priest, he can also fulfill other roles”.
A bishop from another diocese said that “the bishop of Chelmsford can remove Dt. [David Tudor’s] The titles of canon and area dean immediately.”
But in a follow-up discussion in November 2018, Chelmsford Diocese suggested that this would not be appropriate because of the “difficulty of removing these titles without giving reasons”.
We asked Mr Cottrell’s office why he had not acted on the proposal to remove the Tudor titles. We were told that “it would not be appropriate to comment on any notices or decisions of the Core Group which are confidential”.
The investigation also highlighted the role of former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey in the case.
We revealed that Lord Carey had agreed to Tudor’s reinstatement to the priesthood after he was suspended in 1989, and had also agreed to remove Tudor’s name from the list of priests subject to disciplinary action. was faced with He also advocated for the priesthood.
After the BBC gave the information to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, he wrote to the Church of England to relinquish his “permission of depression” to end more than 65 years of ministry. Lord Kerry made the announcement on Tuesday.
In October 2024, Tudor admitted to sexual abuse and was excommunicated by the church. At no point did he respond to the BBC’s attempts to speak to him.