A Roman Catholic hospital is in chaos after the Archbishop of Westminster ordered the resignation of its board of directors.Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, head of the Catholic church in England and Wales, intervened in the affairs of the hospital of St John & St Elizabeth in London, where he is patron, after protracted rows over the adoption of a tighter ethical code banning non-Catholic practices such as abortions, contraception and sex-change operations.
Scalps from Tuesday evening's decision include Aida Hersham, a Persian heiress and socialite, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, son of former Times editor William Rees-Mogg.
The cardinal's office confirmed the appointment of a new chairman, Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank.
The former army chief of staff will select new directors, who will meet on Monday.
A spokesman for the cardinal said: "In light of recent difficulties and challenges the cardinal asked the board to resign their office. This was to enable a new chairman to begin his office with the freedom to go about ensuring the future wellbeing of this Catholic hospital. The cardinal offered his sincere thanks to the old board and all they had done."
The hospital's deputy chief executive, Claire Hornick, said in a press statement that there was no intention to issue further details about the resignations. It also aimed to allay fears about the future of the hospital: "Lord Guthrie, supported by Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, has stated that under his chairmanship there is no desire that the hospital be sold and that the committed plan remains to continue the objects of the charity, which, guided by its Catholic ethos, is to serve the local community."
Rumours of a sale prompted the leader of Westminster council, Sir Simon Milton, to write to Guthrie expressing his concern. "The hospice provides care for over 600 people each year and a home care service to an even greater number," he wrote.
"The hospital has been essential in helping Westminster primary care trust ensure prompt treatment for local residents when waiting times in NHS facilities become too long ... There is also a GP practice and NHS nursing home for older people almost exclusively used by Westminster residents."
The GP practice, which has 9,000 patients, has scandalised staunch Catholics, who believe its activities undermine the religious ethos of the hospital.
Both the hospital and the Brampton Trust, the body owning a third of the site, are registered charities.
The trust is obliged to benefit only Roman Catholic charities and it is thought that housing the practice has led to a breach of trust.
A formal enquiry has been launched by the Charity Commission.
The cardinal's primary objective has always been for St John & St Elizabeth to remain a Catholic hospital and several issues were jeopardising that aim, including GPs prescribing the morning-after pill and referring patients for abortions.
In 2005 he wrote to the then chairman, Lord Bridgman, and said: "There must be clarity that the hospital, being a Catholic hospital with a distinct vision of what is truly in the interests of human persons, cannot offer its patients, non-Catholic or Catholic, the whole range of services routinely accepted by many in modern secular society as being in a patient's best interest."
The Right Rev George Stack, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, was appointed to the hospital's ethics committee to ensure Catholic teaching was upheld in the new code. Its introduction, however, led to a boardroom revolt in December, with two directors resigning in protest, arguing that the cardinal placed Catholic values above patient care. Bridgman stepped down a week later.
The hospital, founded in 1856, is funded by the NHS, self-paying private patients, private health insurance companies and charitable donations. It welcomes patients of any or no religion and its north London location has attracted celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Emma Thompson and Kate Moss to be treated there.
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