Steve Swann

Andrew Graystone, victim and survivors’ advocate “The Church of England had an opportunity to start to rebuild trust, by admitting that it needed expertise from outside. But instead they have chosen to keep it in the family. Shocking arrogance and a punch in the gut for victims.”

Bishop Philip North, who brought the amendment to the original motion “ Synod has voted almost unanimously for real progress in independence in safeguarding. What we’ve got is a strong endorsement of moving immediately to setting up an independent scrutiny body.”

Archbishop of York, Stephen CottrelI “ I support independence in Safeguarding. I’m disappointed that the Church is  now going to do that in two stages, but I fully commit myself to work towards implementing synod’s decision and making it happen."

The Church of England’s national assembly has voted to reject a fully independent model for dealing with abuse.General Synod voted overwhelmingly to adopt option 3 so central safeguarding team will be independent but Church safeguarding officers will remain part of the Church.

RT @henrywinter: The situation at Blackburn Rovers is heart-breaking for their fans specifically but it’s also a story that carries deep co…

Dean of Blackburn Cathedral, which saw huge child protection scandal exposed by BBC, tells Synod “we need to stop the mindset of self-protection” and approve plans for independent safeguarding. “If no one trusts us the institution will not survive.”

RT @AleemMaqbool: On the day the Church of England votes on the way forward on dealing with abuse, Prof Alexis Jay warns of further crises…

I'm outraged Church of England leader called my abuser a 'Rolls Royce' priest. Latest from ⁦@AleemMaqbool⁩ and me on child protection crisis in the CoE. https://t.co/tzANGrPwYE

RT @BBCMBuchanan: NEW: A police investigation into allegations of preventable harm at an NHS trust is now looking into more than 200 cases…

Our latest on the abuse scandal and the Archbishop of York. https://t.co/7Ydf32Fosl

Children’s Society not accepting Xmas donation from Archbishop Welby is a big deal given he’s their honorary president & the charity’s long links to the CoE. It’s worth noting the Children’s Society apologized in 2017 to historical abuse victims it had let down.

Children’s Society won’t accept Christmas donation from outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as “would not be consistent with the principles and values that underpin our work”.

Minister named in Bangladesh corruption probe https://t.co/y6pzCYBq41

Horrifying, Dickensian. Brilliant work by my colleagues.

Michael Buchanan @BBCMBuchanan

NEW: Yes, there’s a housing crisis & yes, there are record levels of homelessness. But what this family endured is beyond anything I’ve come across before. Excrement, maggots & mice - one family’s story of living in a house they didn’t choose. https://t.co/jx9VpmLbvd