A new council has been set up to reform the embattled British branch of the Order of Malta.A "caretaker council" will be responsible for implementing changes to the British Association of the Order of Malta (BASMOM) following concerns about the failure to act on suspicions about a sacristan, Vernon Quaintance, 68, who in April was convicted of child pornography offences.
The council includes Mark Brenninkmeyer, former chairman of the C&A clothing chain, financier Richard Fitzalan-Howard, and Stephen Macklow-Smith, a managing director at JP Morgan bank.
Two senior figures in the order have been asked to step down from their positions while an investigation is conducted: Charles Weld, president of BASMOM, and Fra' Duncan Gallie, a member of the Sovereign Council, the governing body of the worldwide order.