Top Jersey politician condemns CofE failure to publish safeguarding inquiry

UNITED KINGDOM
Christian Today

Ruth Gledhill CHRISTIAN TODAY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR 10 November 2015

A top politician in Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, has condemned the Church of England and the Bishop of Winchester for the way a safeguarding inquiry in connection with the island’s Dean has been handled.

In correspondence seen by Christian Today, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, former Bailiff of Jersey, has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby complaining that the Anglican church on the island is “in limbo” as a result of a failure to publish a report into the incident.

In his strongly-worded letter, Sir Philip describes the situation as “intolerable” and warns that unless the Bishop of Winchester Tim Dakin grasps the nettle and publishes the report, “irreparable damage” will be done to relations between the Church of England and the church in Jersey.

The Bailiwick of Jersey is a self-governing…