Two Church of England charities have been criticised over safeguarding failures following the resignation of former bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath.
The Charity Commission said the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance had failed to properly handle safeguarding allegations against John Perumbalath.
The commission said failings in handling allegations against Mr Perumbalath “amount to mismanagement in the administration of the two charities”.
Mr Perumbalath, the former bishop of Liverpool, stood down a year ago after Channel 4 News reported that one woman had accused him of kissing her without consent and groping her, and another accused him of sexual harassment.
Last year, Mr Perumbalath vehemently denied the allegations and, in his retirement letter, published online, he reiterated his denial. He said he had complied with any investigation from the Church’s safeguarding team.
The warning for the Chelmsford charity found there had been a “failure ongoing over a period of about two years” to report a serious incident to the commission relating to a complaint made in January 2023 about allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr Perumbalath when he was bishop of Bradwell.
Trustees of the Liverpool charity, it found, “failed to consider or investigate” a complaint against Mr Perumbalath and failed to “act in the charity’s best interests and to take reasonable steps to protect from harm people who come into contact with the charity”.
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The Commission said on Friday that “in both instances, due to lack of appropriate procedures and processes, those trustees who knew of the allegations failed to take action that would have allowed the trustee boards to fully consider any risks and make a decision on the appropriate action to take”.
Both charities had “insufficient processes and procedures in place to ensure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those who come into contact with the charity”, the Commission said.
Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said: “In the two diocesan charities, lack of appropriate policies and procedures led to a failure to ensure that serious allegations against a senior figure were properly considered by the relevant trustee bodies. We will further engage with both charities as they continue to take steps to address our concerns.”
The Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance apologised for “the shortcomings identified” by the Charity Commission.
The trustees for the Liverpool charity added that it had “already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes”.
In a joint statement, Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani and the town’s diocesan safeguarding officer said they “respectfully disagree” with some of the commission’s conclusions and were “disappointed” by the decision to issue an official warning, which they said was “disproportionate”.
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They said their response was “robust and survivor-led”.
