Bishop of Liverpool retires amid misconduct allegations

The Bishop of Liverpool has announced his retirement days after facing allegations of misconduct from two women, including another bishop.

One woman said the Right Reverend Dr John Perumbalath kissed her without consent and groped her on separate occasions between 2019 and 2023, while the second, a female bishop, accused him of sexual harassment in 2023.

The Rt Revd Beverley Mason, the Bishop of Warrington, later named herself as a second complainant in a statement.

"A bishop cannot be above the law. A bishop cannot be dealt differently from a priest.

"If anything, a bishop must be held to greater scrutiny. This is a biblical imperative," she said.

Bishop Perumbalath, 58, has vehemently denied the allegations - and in his retirement letter, published online on Thursday, he reiterated his denial.

The letter, shared by the Diocese of Liverpool, read: "Having sought the permission of His Majesty the King, I have today taken the decision to retire from active ministry in the Church of England."

Addressing the accusations, he continued: "Since those allegations were made I have consistently maintained that I have not done anything wrong and continue to do so.

"I do not wish this story to become a distraction for this incredible diocese and its people whom it has been an honour and joy to serve," the bishop says in his letter.

"This is not a resignation occasioned by fault or by any admission of liability."

The exact date for when the bishop's role will formally end is yet to be decided, but he is stepping back from ministering and leading the diocese as of Thursday.

The letter continued: "I have taken this decision for my own well-being, my family and the best interests of the Diocese.

"I have informed the Archbishop of York of my decision and I understand he will put in place the necessary arrangements for episcopal oversight of the diocese for the remainder of my time here and during the vacancy."

The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell - who has faced calls to resign over separate safeguarding failures - said: "I respect his decision and thank him for his ministry."

"My thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those who have been affected by this situation," he continued. "I am committed to ensuring stability during this time of transition and will be putting the necessary arrangements in place to provide episcopal oversight for the diocese."

An acting bishop will be announced in the coming days.

The diocese - which on Wednesday pressured the bishop to step aside - said in a statement: "We acknowledge his decision in taking this step for the good of the Diocese of Liverpool.

"This is a deeply painful situation, and we hold all concerned in our prayers."

The misconduct allegations were reported by Channel 4 earlier this week but first made to the Church of England in 2023.

The Church said the female bishop's complaint "was looked into according to statutory safeguarding guidance… and an independent risk assessment undertaken".

"This process concluded that there were no ongoing safeguarding concerns, but a learning outcome was identified with which the bishop fully engaged."

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A "further disclosure was made by another woman" shortly after, the Church said. This was "assessed not to be a safeguarding matter but a matter of alleged misconduct," it added.

The Bishop of Warrington, later confirmed in a statement that she is the second complainant.

She said she was advised of a complaint against the Bishop of Liverpool in March 2023, and "raised what I believe were significant concerns, which included my own disclosure".

She added that "we as a church have not properly and satisfactorily addressed concerns that have been raised," and hopes that after her disclosure, "there will be no more defensiveness but an honest scrutiny of what we are doing, how we are doing it, where the gaps sit and how we address them".

Bishop Perumbalath's resignation comes at a tumultuous time for the Church of England, which has recently seen Justin Welby quit as Archbishop of Canterbury over the handling of another case.

(c) Sky News 2025: Bishop of Liverpool retires amid misconduct allegations