YORK (UNITED KINGDOM)
Premier Christian News [Crowborough, England]
January 9, 2026
By Donna Birrell
A survivor who brought a safeguarding complaint against the Archbishop of Canterbury-elect has said he will appeal against the Archbishop of York’s decision to dismiss the case against her.
Most Rev Stephen Cottrell announced earlier this week that he would take no further action against Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally for her handling of abuse allegations by a man known as Survivor N.
N believes Bishop Sarah still has a case to answer because in a December statement to Premier Christian News she said his allegations against a priest in the Diocese of London had been “fully dealt with”. However, yesterday the church announced it was reopening an investigation into those allegations.
Dr Andrew Graystone who is an advocate for victims and survivors of church-related abuse told Premier: “It’s not even logical. Was the initial complaint fully and fairly investigated under Bishop Sarah Mullaly, the Bishop of London as she was then, in which case we don’t need to reopen the investigation, or was it not properly investigated, in which case there is a case against Bishop Sarah.
“You can’t have it both ways. It seems almost inevitable that the driving factor in this is that they desperately want the Archbishop of Canterbury to be installed on the 28th of January without any fuss or bother, and they are determined for that to happen, even if it’s at the expense of justice.”
When asked by Premier why the investigation into the priest had been reopened, a spokesperson for the Diocese of London said that N’s allegations against the clergyman had been originally received and investigated in 2014 and 2015 by the Diocese of London’s Safeguarding Team, which found no safeguarding concerns. In December, following a Premier Christian News investigation into N’s case, the President of Tribunals’ Office revisited the complaint and it will now be considered and determined by the Bishop of Fulham, Rt Rev Jonathan Baker.
The Diocese said the “process is underway and, as with any complaint against a member of clergy, will be carried out in confidence in accordance with the Clergy Discipline Measure. Support has been offered to the complainant and to the respondent.”
N has been given 14 days in which to ask the President of Tribunals to review the Archbishop of York’s decision not to take further action against Bishop Sarah for her handling of his case.