Having already been banned for life from participating in ministry, disgraced Church of England priest David Tudor has been hit with yet another lifetime ministry ban.
In November a Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Southwark upheld a new complaint against Tudor relating to the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl in the mid-1980s. This week the tribunal said that as a result of its deliberations it would be imposing a second lifetime ban on Tudor.
Tudor had already received such a ban in 2024 after he admitted that sexual abuse allegations made against him by two women were true.
Both the Diocese of Southwark and the Diocese of Chelmsford have responded to the latest ban on Tudor. While the complaints against Tudor relate to his time as a priest in Southwark, Tudor after a period of suspension, resumed ministry work at the Diocese of Chelmsford in 1997.
Questions were asked of the current Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who became Bishop of Chelmsford in 2010. Cottrell later said he was in the “awful situation” of being unable to legally take action against Tudor without new complaints or evidence. A recent tribunal cleared Cottrell of any misconduct in the case but found that “some mistakes were made” in the handling of the case.
Following the news of a new lifetime ban on Tudor, the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Christopher Chessun said, “It takes extraordinary courage to speak out and bring forward a complaint, and so I am grateful to the woman who shared her experience of David Tudor’s harmful actions, and I apologise unreservedly for the pain and trauma he has caused.
“I am also grateful to those who have engaged in this long and difficult process to reach this judgment, particularly to those who have been affected by his behaviour and to the safeguarding professionals in Chelmsford and Southwark Dioceses and the Church of England National Safeguarding Team.”
His statement was echoed by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, who said, “The woman who brought this complaint showed extraordinary courage in doing so. I want to repeat my thanks to her and to all those who have come forward to report David Tudor’s abuse.
"I am profoundly sorry for the trauma and harm he has caused and I am deeply grateful to them for engaging with this lengthy and difficult process."
She added, “We are continuing to support the Independent Reviewers who are undertaking a Safeguarding Practice Review of the David Tudor case, jointly commissioned by the National Safeguarding Team, and the dioceses of Southwark and Chelmsford.”
If you or anyone you are in contact with is affected by this update and would like to talk to someone independently, please call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 or visit Safe Spaces Website. Alternatively, you may wish to contact the diocesan safeguarding team in your area or the National Safeguarding Team at safeguarding@churchofengland.org.
