The Church of England has launched an independent inquiry into its handling of the case of David Tudor, a former Rector in Chelmsford Diocese who was banned from ministry for life after he admitted that sexual abuse allegations against him were true.
The Safeguarding Practice Review (SPR) will be headed by Sue Williams, a former commander in the Metropolitan Police. The SPR will examine the allegations against Tudor and is tasked with assessing how the Church responded to them, with specific reference to "how it responded to victims and survivors".
Tudor served in the Church of England in various roles for 46 years before finally being barred in October 2024.
A BBC investigation found that Tudor was tried twice for indecent assault against girls under 16 as far back as 1988. In the first trial Tudor was acquitted, but confessed to having sex with a 16-year-old girl. In the second case, Tudor was found guilty of indecently assaulting three other schoolgirls and sentenced to six months in prison. He served the full sentence but the conviction was later quashed on the grounds that the judge had misled the jury.
Tudor was suspended from practising in the Church for five years, but afterwards returned to work as a vicar in Canvey Island.
In 2005, he was suspended by Chelmsford Diocese after a complaint was received about his conduct prior to his ordination in the 1970s.
According to the BBC, seven people have made allegations against Tudor. One of the accusers was reportedly paid a six-figure sum by the Church in 2019.
The Church said that any shortcomings highlighted by the SPR will result in “appropriate action” being taken.
Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, who is also the interim head of the Church until a new Archbishop of Canterbury is appointed, has faced calls for his resignation for allowing Tudor to remain in a clerical position, despite having knowledge of his past actions and knowing that he was barred from working with children.
The Archbishop has claimed that he removed him as soon as he had the legal grounds to do so in 2019, although a spokesperson for the Archbishop said that he acknowledges the Tudor case "could have been handled differently".
