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Church appoints panel to examine its role in Peter Ball abuse case
By Harriet Sherwood
The Church of England has appointed an independent panel to review its handling of the case of Peter Ball, the former bishop of Lewes and Gloucester who was jailed for sex abuse offences, and to help it “learn from its errors”. The review, which will report to the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, within a year, is to examine what information was in the church’s possession concerning Ball, and when; and whether the church’s response was appropriate and complied with the law. Ball, 83, was sentenced last October to 32 months in prison for the grooming, sexual exploitation and abuse of 18 vulnerable young men between 1977 and 1992. His trial at the Old Bailey heard that a string of senior establishment figures, including an unidentified member of the royal family, wrote letters in support of Ball while the police were investigating allegations of abuse. Following a caution for gross indecency in 1993, Paul resigned as bishop of Gloucester and lived in a rented cottage on the Prince of Wales’s Duchy of Cornwall estate. He was not prosecuted for more than 20 years. On New Year’s Eve, the Crown Prosecution Service released a cache of letters after a Freedom of Information request. One from the former archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, to the chief constable of Gloucester spoke of Ball’s “excruciating pain and spiritual torment” over the abuse allegations. The church-appointed independent review of its handling of the Ball case is to be led by Moira Gibb, former director of social services in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea and chief executive of the Camden borough until 2012. In a letter sent to survivors of Ball’s abuse, which was leaked to the Guardian, Gibb said the review would lay out the facts of Ball’s behaviour and the church’s response to it at the time and subsequently. “My intention … is to help the church learn as quickly as possible from its errors so that it can protect children and vulnerable adults much better in the future,” she wrote. The review team will have access to material and files held by the church, and will invite survivors to testify. Neil Todd, who accused Ball of abuse in 1993, killed himself three years ago after three earlier attempts to take his life. His sister, Mary Mills Knowles, said in a victim impact statement: “The church wanted to sweep this under the carpet. They had no concern for Neil’s wellbeing. He was very distressed, vulnerable and distraught. He felt nobody believed him.” Another survivor, the vicar Graham Sawyer, who has waived his right to anonymity, said: “I believe that the Church of England review should add bullying and silencing of victims and whistleblowers to the terms of reference and I shall be making this clear to Dame Moira before agreeing to take part.” Welby said: “We have offered an unreserved apology to all the survivors and commend the bravery of those who brought these allegations forward, acknowledging how difficult and distressing this would have been. “It is a matter of deep shame and regret that a bishop in the Church of England committed these offences. There are no excuses whatsoever for what took place and the systematic abuse of trust perpetrated by Peter Ball over decades. I hope the review will provide the church as a whole with an opportunity to learn lessons which will improve our safeguarding practice and policy.” The church apologised unreservedly to the survivors of Ball’s abuse at the time the former bishop was sentenced. The church took allegations of sexual abuse very seriously, it said, while being “painfully conscious of our past failings”.
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