The Church of England has opened a review into a complaint involving Dame Sarah Mullally, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, over how she handled an earlier abuse allegation during her time as Bishop of London.
The abuse complaint against her dates back to 2020 and was first sent to Lambeth Palace. Officials now admit it was never processed because of administrative mistakes and a wrong assumption that the complainant no longer wanted action. Church leaders say Dame Sarah was not told about the allegation at the time.
The review arrives only weeks before she is scheduled to take office on 28 January, making her the first woman to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury. She stepped into the global spotlight after Justin Welby resigned earlier this year following a safeguarding crisis.
Speaking after the disclosure, Dame Sarah said the complainant had been let down and emphasised that the handling of the case needed to improve. She noted that the original allegation against the priest involved had been addressed by the Diocese of London, but the later complaint naming her directly had not been handled correctly.
She added that she was seeking reassurance that complaints entering Lambeth Palace would now receive timely attention.
Earlier this week the complainant, identified publicly only as N, told Premier Christian that the flawed process had harmed his mental health. According to the outlet, documents show that when he reported the priest’s conduct, Bishop Sarah contacted the accused cleric, a move Premier said breached standard Church discipline procedures.
Church officials now confirm that the complaint against her was never advanced. Lambeth Palace staff believed, mistakenly, that N no longer wished to proceed, yet they had not checked this with him.
A spokesman for Lambeth Palace said officials had written to N to outline the next steps. He added that the Bishop of London had been unaware of the complaint because it had not reached the stage where she would have been notified. The provincial registrar has apologised to all parties, and the case will now move into the formal statutory process.
Dame Sarah’s elevation comes during a difficult stretch for the Church of England. A former chief nurse in the NHS, she entered ordained ministry in 2006 and became the first woman to serve as Bishop of London in 2018, placing her among the highest ranking figures in the Church.
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Her appointment as the next Archbishop was announced in October, following Justin Welby’s resignation. He left the role after an inquiry found he should have reported evidence of abuse linked to John Smyth in 2013. Since his departure in January, the Church has gone nearly a full year without a permanent leader, with Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell covering most senior duties.
Cottrell, who was part of the commission that voted for Dame Sarah’s appointment, has also faced calls to step aside over his handling of a separate abuse case. His involvement in the transition has added further attention to the Church’s response to safeguarding issues.
With the review now under way and her installation date approaching, attention will remain on how Church authorities manage both the complaint and the wider reforms promised after a series of high profile safeguarding failures.