Father Alan Griffin killed himself after a secret Church of England report spread false gossip that he abused children and paid for sex.
Bishop Sarah claims she was given that report – but says she didn’t read it.
Written by the former head of operations in the diocese, a man since jailed for a £5.2m fraud against the Church, the report contained a toxic mixture of genuine safeguarding concerns and unsubstantiated smears about 42 members of the clergy – including Father Alan.
‘Blood on its hands’
The Reverend Robert Thompson is a vicar in a London church and a member of the Church of England ruling body – the General Synod.
He told us: “I think the entire diocese has blood on its hands. When Sarah presided at the Eucharist, I felt that the blood of Alan Griffin was on her hands.
“I think the entire diocese has blood on its hands.” – Rev Robert Thompson
“But the blood of Alan Griffin is on her hands and all of our hands, because all of us need to take responsibility for the culture of safeguarding within the diocese. Not just the individuals at the top, but all of us.”
He said Bishop Sarah’s failure to act on the report was so serious that she should delay her enthronement as the new Archbishop.
“So what I think she needs to do at this point is she needs to put a halt on her becoming Archbishop of Canterbury, because it will, I think, destroy the mission of the church,” he said.
After the coroner’s damning conclusions about how the church failed Father Alan, a “lessons learnt” review was commissioned by the diocese. It recommended destroying all but one copy of the secret report. And it urged a complete overhaul of safeguarding.
‘Clergy put at risk’
Michelle Burns joined the London safeguarding team in 2022 and was horrified by what she found. She’s never spoken publicly about it before.
She told us: “We didn’t talk to each other. We didn’t. Emails were ignored by other colleagues. Management was very domineering and kind of brutish I would say.”
She said the changes promised after Alan Griffin’s death weren’t being implemented. And she feared other clergy were in danger.
“There was one case,” she said. “The victim was a member of the clergy who was being stalked and harassed, and I even went to the church to provide some pastoral support for him, which is not my role for this member of the clergy, because he was distraught.”
“My instruction from the head of safeguarding and line management is that this member of clergy is an adult, has agency and can report crimes himself. This man was terrified, frightened about what was happening to him,” she said.
“I raised some concerns about how I was convinced that with this particular member of the clergy there was going to be another Alan Griffin. He was distraught about what was happening to him. That’s what I thought was going to happen. And I raised concerns that I was worried about this person’s mental health.”
But Ms Burns claims that those concerns weren’t dealt with. Instead, she believes the member of the clergy was put at risk by the Church.
“In cases like that, I felt complicit in that abuse because I couldn’t do anything. My supervisors told me to just stay away, don’t get emotionally involved,” Ms Burns told us.
When she complained, she claims that she then found herself targeted.
“When I raised concerns and raised my voice, I became very quickly isolated from the rest of the team.
And she said the strain took a terrible toll on her mental health.
“Earlier this year, it got quite bad when I was being, you know, ignored and isolated and it got to the point around Easter time that I was hospitalised.
“I sadly made an attempt on my life,” she told us.
‘Shocked but unsurprised’
The Reverend Robert Thompson said he was shocked but sadly unsurprised by Ms Burns’s testimony.
“I think those of us who have raised privately, in the first instance, questions about safeguarding amongst our colleagues are often the ones that are not believed and often the ones that are then criticised,” he said.
It’s taken a toll on his mental health too, he added.
“I’ve had particularly low periods and I had to go and see my GP and I had to go on anti-depressants for a particular period of time because of the way that I was treated in relation to a number of issues of abuse that I raised.”
After being hospitalised, Ms Burns says she was eventually forced out of her job. The Church then made her sign a confidentiality agreement, which she’s breaking to speak to us.
“The agreement was not to be disparaging to the Diocese of London or about the Diocese of London and there was a social media clause not to talk on social media…I think the purpose of it was to save face and to stop the diocese from being embarrassed,” she explained.
But Ms Burns says she was determined to speak out, fearing if changes aren’t made, more vulnerable clergy will die.
“More people will die. More people will become ill. And they’ve already got blood on their hands,” she said of the Church.
The London Diocese told us that Michelle left as a result of a “mutual agreement” that was in a “standard form” and that Michelle had not yet made any disclosures to them about her concerns under the Diocese whistleblowing policy. They also said, in the instance that she described, the nature of her role meant she would not necessarily have been aware of how the relevant clergyperson was being supported.
‘Should consider her position’
More than a year since the last Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby was forced to quit over safeguarding failings relating to the John Smyth abuse scandal, Bishop Sarah is being urged to consider her position before she’s even installed in the job.
The Rev Robert Thompson: “Ultimately, the person at the top needs to take the responsibility for failures and safeguarding in the Diocese.
“I think we’re at a really crucial point in the Church of England. For the first time we’ve had an archbishop who’s had to resign because of safeguarding things, multiple safeguarding things.”
He continued, “but the reality is that Sarah’s safeguarding failures within the Diocese are worse than Justin’s.”
“Sarah had direct involvement in the safeguarding culture of the diocese in the time that Father Alan Griffin took his own life, and she is far, far more culpable in relation to that particular death than Justin was in relation to anything that happened with Smyth.”
Five years since Father Alan Griffin died, no one has lost their job over the failings identified by the coroner, and in the subsequent review commissioned by the Church.
Bishop Sarah response
“In 2022, following the publication of the independent report into Fr Alan Griffin’s death, I apologised unreservedly to his family and friends. I repeat that apology today.
“Ever since I became Bishop of London in 2018, and before, I have spoken publicly about the clear need for independent scrutiny of safeguarding across the Church of England.
“That is why I commissioned the Robson Report into Fr Alan’s death, to examine exactly what went wrong in the tragic run-up to November 2020. The public recommendations from the independent report in 2022 have been vital ever since in driving forward change across the Diocese of London.
“That change has been embedded in the Diocesan Safeguarding Team today, as has the need for continuous safeguarding improvement and culture change.
“Nevertheless, I understand why now, as I prepare to become Archbishop of Canterbury, there will be renewed scrutiny of past cases, and especially my role. As I said when announced as the next Archbishop on the 3rd October 2025, we must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church.
“I continue to be determined to improve safeguarding across the Church of England. In this Diocese, as part of an ongoing programme across all dioceses, we have recently undergone an independent safeguarding audit by INEQE. We will want to use its findings and recommendations, which will be made public, to build on the progress made to date.”
Church of England response
The Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop Joanne Grenfell said: “As Bishop of Stepney, I worked alongside Bishop Sarah in the Diocese of London from 2019 to 2025. During that time, I witnessed her commitment to good safeguarding, to ensuring proper safeguarding systems and processes, and to shaping a healthier culture across the Diocese.
“Notable changes included increasing resourcing for the diocesan safeguarding team and creating a multi-background, skilled team with excellent oversight of casework and decision making. Governance was also strengthened, with regular oversight and scrutiny from an independently chaired Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel and from the Bishop’s Council.
“The Diocese is a large and complex organisation, and Bishop Sarah clearly inherited a culture where, in places, light had not been shone on unacceptable behaviour. She was utterly committed and principled in setting about changing that culture and ensuring that any concerns were addressed with rigour.
“In her response to recent news reports, I continue to see Bishop Sarah’s commitment to honesty and transparency in safeguarding, a commitment which I am glad she will also bring to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury.”