We know that the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, frequently lies, but does his lying go beyond mere habit or deliberation actions? Is it a sign that he suffers from pseudologia mythomania?

If it is, that may explain some more recent examples of his lying: including his lies this week in response to BBC News Religion Editor Aleem Maqbool’s expose of Cottrell’s handling of child abuse David Tudor – abuse that Cottrell admits he was brief on in his very first week as Bishop of Chelmsford.

I set out something of Cottrell’s lies in that statement here, in a post exploring Cottrell’s statement in response to the BBC programme.

That post follows an earlier article where I set out how Cottrell lied to the General Synod in his explanation for why he had previously lied to the Synod over the disbanding of the Archbishops’ Council’s Independent Safeguarding Board.

Today, I’m returning to Cottrell’s statement in response to last week’s File on Four programme.

I won’t repeat my earlier dismantling of most of the lies in Cottrell’s statement, because I want to move on to new facts that have emerged this morning following an investigation by the BBC’s Steve Swann and Harry Farley.

Let’s remind ourselves of some of the lines in Cottrell’s statement issued on Monday:

“This morning’s news coverage incorrectly implies that no action was taken until 2024. That is not the case. In my capacity as Bishop of Chelmsford, I suspended David Tudor from office at the first opportunity, when a new victim came forward to the police in 2019.  Up until 2019, there were no legal grounds to take alternative action…

“I am deeply sorry that we were not able to take action earlier…”

My earlier post highlighted how this is not true. Cottrell could have removed Tudor from his office as area dean. And Cottrell did not have to promote Tudor by making him an Honorary Canon of Chelmsford Cathedral.

Today’s BBC News report reveals that not only did Cottrell not remove Tudor from the post of area dean, he also actually renewed Tudor’s licence. And he not only did this once, he did it twice.

And as for not being able to take action in 2019 when another victim came forward, BBC News has revealed that the Church of England itself “issued an apology and a six-figure pay-out to another alleged victim” – that’s a year before Cottrell says another victim came forward, and is on top of a separate £10,000 settlement that Cottrell knew Tudor had paid to a different victim in 2012.

Tudor was appointed area dean in 2008 by the then-Bishop of Chelmsford, John Gladwin. His appointment was renewed by Cottrell in 2013 (after Cottrell knew about Tudor’s £10,000 payout to a victim) and again in 2018 (the year the Church of England paid compensation to a different victim.

The post was only removed from him when his term expired again in 2020, at a time when Tudor was suspended pending the outcome of the complaint that would eventually see him removed from office and barred from ministry for life, in October this year.

The BBC report highlights leaked minutes from an internal meeting at Church House in Westminster, which heard Chelmsford diocese took the view that if Tudor “can be a parish priest, he can undertake the other roles”.

And in November 2018, the diocese told Church House officials that it would not be appropriate to remove Tudor’s additional posts because of “the difficulty of removing those titles without explaining why.”

In other words, Stephen Cottrell didn’t do the right thing, because if he did the right thing, he would have to tell the truth: something we know Stephen Cottrell has a problem with.

We know from the File on Four programme that the local education authority had advised all schools in their area that Tudor was not to be allowed on their premises because of the risks he posed to children. If a local authority can warn schools that a priest poses a risk; why can’t a bishop advise clergy that the priest poses a risk?

When asked by the BBC to respond to today’s story, a spokesperson for Cottrell said that “it would not be appropriate to comment on any notes or decisions from a core group process which are confidential.”

Ah, yes. The confidentiality get-out clause: “We can comment when you don’t know stuff, because we can make it up. But when you do know stuff, we won’t comment because we can’t take the risk of lying when we don’t know what receipts you’ve got to call us out on it.”

Today, BBC News reports that “The Archbishop of York said he regrets his handling of the case, with a spokesperson saying ‘he acknowledges this could have been handled differently.’”

How different this is from Monday’s statement, when Cottrell insisted he did what he could when he could to remove Tudor from office.

Stephen Cottrell is a proven liar. The Church of England cannot reform its safeguarding with him in charge – however temporary. He needs to resign.

After all, to quote his own Christmas message: “In the last month, the Church of England has been humbled by our failures to keep children and vulnerable adults safe. The Christmas story places a vulnerable child at the centre. This is a lesson for all of us to learn. Putting the need of others first.”

Please, Stephen Cottrell, act on your words, put the needs of others before your own, and step down so that the Church can begin the process of becoming a safe place for children, vulnerable adults, and all. And, dear reader, if you agree that it is time for Stephen Cottrell to step down, please sign the petition calling on him to do so. At the time of writing, it stands at just over 34,000 signatories.