ENGLAND
The Guardian
June 22, 2018
Negative aspects downplayed to limit reputational damage, former Barnado’s chief finds
The Church of England “botched” an inquiry into historical allegations of sexual abuse, the former head of a children’s charity has found.
Sir Roger Singleton, the former chief executive of Barnado’s, reviewed the church’s own Past Cases Review from 2010. He said the report did not give a comprehensive picture of the problem and that those conducting the inquiry had refused to speak to some survivors.
Singleton said the church “downplayed negative aspects” of the PCR’s findings in public statements to avoid damaging the reputation of the institution and the then archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
But Singleton, whose report will be published in the coming weeks, said he found no evidence of a deliberate attempt to mislead or that anyone broke the law.
The PCR examined more than 40,000 case files relating to allegations of abuse dating back to the 1950s and concluded that just 13 cases of alleged child sexual abuse required formal action.
After survivors complained that the report was inadequate, Singleton was commissioned to carry out an independent review of how it was conducted. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that it had been “botched in three ways”.
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