by Tim Wyatt, Church Times
The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Stephen Lake, deputy chair of the Church Commissioners, responds to questions from the Synod on Monday evening
PROJECT SPIRE, the plan to set aside £100 million from the Church Commissioners’ funds for investment to address the legacy of the slave trade, came under renewed attack in the General Synod on Monday evening.
During Questions, members of the Synod, meeting in Church House, Westminster, closely scrutinised the proposals — which would require the Commissioners to register a new charity, then apply for permission from the Charity Commission to transfer £100 million to it — and raised legal, financial, and historical concerns.
But the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Stephen Lake, who is the deputy chair of the Commissioners, offered a robust defence of Project Spire, insisting that it was being pursued appropriately.
All the money that had so far been spent on developing the plan had taken place in consultation with the regulator and after first taking legal advice, Bishop Lake said. He rebutted requests to publish this advice to the Synod.
“The Commissioners remain committed to establishing a new charitable fund to be an agent of change focused on achieving healing, repair, and justice for all,” he said. “We are progressing this work in a responsible, lawful, and diligent manner.”
Criticism of the proposals came thick and fast, however. The first 16 of the written questions submitted to these Synod sessions all related to Project Spire, and all but one came from opponents of the scheme.