Church Commissioners Written Questions: Bishops – Offences Against Children

On 24th February 2021, the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Andrew Selous MP, gave the following written answer to a question to an MP:

Neil Coyle MP (Lab, Bermondsey and Old Southwark): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what the composition of the (a) Gibbs and (b) Whitsey reviews are; and if he will place non-redacted copies of the reports in the Library.

Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): The review by Dame Moria Gibb in 2017 into Peter Ball, the former Bishop of Gloucester, and the Whitsey review undertaken by His Hon David Pearl in 2019 into Hubert Whitsey, the former Bishop of Chester, are both available in full on the Church of England’s website.

The Gibb review, ‘An Abuse of Faith’, is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/report-of-the-peter-ball-review-210617.pdf(opens in a new tab)

The Whitsey review is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/safeguarding/overview/news-and-views/independent-lessons-learnt-review-bishop-whitsey-case

Hansard