Former IICSA chair to sort out safeguarding in the Church of England
from Religion Media Centre:
Professor Alexis Jay, the former chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA, and the former IICSA secretary John O’Brien, have agreed to develop proposals for a fully independent safeguarding structure in the Church of England.
The announcement follows the chaos of recent weeks when two members of the church’s Independent Safeguarding Board were sacked, the interim chair resigned and the former chair complained of being misrepresented and maligned. The dispute spilled over into the general synod meeting in York ten days ago, when the two sacked members were allowed to give their side of the story.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell, welcomed Professor Jay’s appointment and said her work would be fully external and independent. They expect she will report back before the end of the year with a recommendation which the church will debate and then consult on its implementation. In her own statement,
Professor Jay said she has always been clear that safeguarding in the church would require genuine independence: “I have explained that if I detect any attempt to interfere with or to hinder my work, I will withdraw from this programme of work immediately”.
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