Official warning issued to Church of England dioceses over former Bishop of Liverpool allegations

The Charity Commission has taken regulatory action against the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance over “failures to handle safeguarding allegations” related to the former Bishop of Liverpool.

The Commission’s definition of safeguarding includes taking “reasonable steps to protect from harm all those who come into contact with a charity”.

The charities, which have purposes to assist and promote the work of the Church of England in the Dioceses of Liverpool and Chelmsford respectively, have both been issued with official warnings and advice on how to improve their practice for the future. The Charity Commission said it is the first time it has issued an official warning against any Church of England diocese.

The Charity Commission said safeguarding concerns were initially brought to its attention from various sources, including media reporting in January 2025.

The concerns related to allegations about behaviour towards two adults by the then Bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath who resigned on January 30 while maintaining no wrongdoing had occurred.

Mr Perumbalath “consistently” denied any wrongdoing, after a Channel 4 News investigation revealed he had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the Chelmsford Diocese on separate occasions between 2019 and 2023, and of allegedly sexually harassing a female bishop.

He was interviewed voluntarily under caution by police in March 2024, and no charges were brought. The police closed the investigation due to insufficient evidence.

In a statement on January 30, 2025, Dr Perumbalath said: “Having sought the permission of His Majesty the King, I have today taken the decision to retire from active ministry in the Church of England.

“Earlier this week I was approached by Channel 4 news who informed me they would be broadcasting a story containing allegations of inappropriate behaviour by me against two different women.

“Since those allegations were made I have consistently maintained that I have not done anything wrong and continue to do so. Since the claims were made in 2023 they have been investigated and considered by experts from the National Safeguarding Team and had found them unsubstantiated.

“The first allegation was also investigated by the Police resulting in no further action. Despite this, media reports have treated me as guilty on all charges and treated these allegations as fact.

“Further it has been erroneously reported that prior to my appointment as Bishop of Liverpool I had failed the safeguarding assessment process. This is categorically not true.

“As the Church of England have made clear in their written statements over the past 48 hours responding to these false claims, the National Safeguarding Team found no concerns about my operational safeguarding experience and recommended some development work for me as I took on additional strategic safeguarding responsibilities – which is commonly the case for new diocesan bishops.”

As part of its regulatory compliance cases, the Charity Commission engaged with the trustees of Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance and has found that, in both charities, there was a “failure to properly handle safeguarding allegations”.

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A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “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.

“While the Commission recognises the need for sensitive handling of serious allegations among large trustee bodies, the Commission found there were insufficient processes and procedures in place to ensure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those who come into contact with the charity.

“This also meant the trustees of the dioceses were not able to consider whether the matters should be reported to the Charity Commission as serious incidents when the allegations were first made in 2023. The incidents were subsequently reported to the Commission in early 2025 after media interest in the allegations.

“The Commission has concluded that these failings amount to mismanagement in the administration of the two charities.”

The Official Warnings set out that both charities must ensure they have adequate understanding of the Commission’s guidance on taking reasonable steps to protect people from harm who come into contact with their charities.

The trustees must also ensure that, where responsibility for safeguarding is delegated to individuals or sub groups, robust policies and procedures for reporting appropriate information to the wider trustee boards are in place and followed.

Further to this, the charities must ensure that serious incidents are reported promptly to the Commission, with processes to support this put in place. The charities are also required to update the regulator on their progress with actions set out in the official warnings.

The Chair of Trustees, Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance, said: “The Charity Commission has issued a formal warning to the Trustees of the Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance. This follows an investigation by the Commission into the circumstances that led to the resignation of the former Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend John Perumbalath, in January 2025.

“Allegations were raised against the former Bishop of Liverpool in 2023. These allegations were denied; however, the Commission has found that trustees did not adequately discharge their safeguarding responsibilities in relation to the reporting of these allegations and that there were failings in our processes and procedures.

“We accept the Commission’s findings and apologise for the shortcomings identified. We have already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes, and we commit to ongoing learning, accountability and continuous improvement.

“The Diocese of Liverpool is dedicated to ensuring that the church is a safe and inclusive environment where concerns can be raised in a culture of accountability, transparency and compassion.”

The Church of England’s Lead Safeguarding Bishop Joanne Grenfell and National Safeguarding Director Alexander Kubeyinje said: “We take very seriously any communication and recommendation from a regulatory body issued to parts of the Church of England which have legal safeguarding responsibilities, and we note that both dioceses have responded to the Commission and issued public statements.

“The national Church worked closely with both dioceses on the referenced case, which was complex - a full statement was issued at the time outlining the process followed.

“We will continue to engage with The Charity Commission to discuss further the implications of its findings regarding trustee involvement. We will also assess the relevance of these findings for all 42 dioceses and cathedrals, each of which are separate legal entities.

“As a Church, our priority in all our safeguarding work remains to continue to improve our practice and respond well to victims and survivors. This includes the implementation of further safeguarding reforms, particularly in governance, with detailed proposals to be brought to next month’s General Synod to ensure sustainable and long-lasting best practice.”

A full statement from Bishop of Chelmsford and the Chelmsford Diocesan Safeguarding Officer can be found here.