UNITED KINGDOM
Northern Echo

by Robert Merrick, Parliamentary Correspondent

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has revealed his mission to root out historic child abuse in the Church of England, by trawling every clergy personnel record dating back more than 60 years.

More than 800 “blue files” are being examined in Durham diocese alone, in an exhaustive nationwide inquiry being overseen by the Bishop of Durham, Paul Butler.

The Archbishop – who said he broke down in tears at harrowing accounts of abuse – vowed there would be no hiding place for any clergy “however distinguished or well-known”.

And he suggested he was braced for further scandals to emerge, saying: “There’s more that’s not been revealed.”

On the impact of abuse, he said: “It is beyond description – terrible. When you abuse a child or a vulnerable adult, you mark them for the rest of their lives.”