Displaying items by tag: resignation

Survivors of abuse associated with John Smyth, a prolific child abuser linked to the Church of England, are urging further resignations following Justin Welby’s decision on 13 November to step down. A review revealed Welby 'could and should have’ reported Smyth’s abuse in 2013. Many survivors maintain that his resignation alone is insufficient, and insist that all individuals involved in the cover-up be held accountable. An independent report detailed the Church’s historical inaction, describing it as a 'missed opportunity' to bring Smyth to justice before his death in 2018. Bishop Rachel Treweek emphasised the need for further accountability, while Bishop Martin Gorick expressed discomfort with the situation. See also

Wales' first minister Vaughan Gething has announced his resignation just four months after taking office. This decision follows the resignation of three government ministers and his top legal adviser, who called for his departure due to ongoing controversies. Gething has faced scrutiny over a £200,000 campaign donation from a convicted businessman. In his resignation statement, he denied any wrongdoing and lamented the loss of the burden of proof in politics. Sir Keir Starmer thanked Gething for his service, acknowledging the difficulty of his decision. Plaid Cymru called for a snap election; Labour holds 30 of the 60 Senedd seats, so requires support from opposition to govern. Gething was the first black leader of a national government in Europe. His brief tenure was marked by internal conflict and external controversies, ultimately leading to his resignation.

The Diocese of St Albans has reported, ‘We have been informed of the resignation of Canon Mike Pilavachi from his employment at Soul Survivor Watford, and want to stress that a safeguarding investigation will continue in line with House of Bishops guidance. We will continue to listen to and offer support to those who come forward.’ The joint investigation is being run by the diocese  and the National Safeguarding Team, independently of Soul Survivor. The Church Times reported Matt Redman speaking of ‘harmful behaviour by church leadership’ and in Premier Christian News Matt said he spent years healing from his time at Soul Survivor. The Telegraph reported the Church’s abuse investigation as ‘toothless’, with no power to punish preachers. There are a number of current abuse scandals leaving a trail of destruction across the church.

Michael Lockwood has led the Office for Police Conduct as director general since 2018, handling the most serious complaints against police in England and Wales. Now he has been forced to resign after becoming the subject of a police investigation himself. The Home Secretary took action after learning of a probe into a historical allegation against Lockwood. He was asked either to resign or be suspended. No further information about the nature of the allegation was given. Home Office staff are now working to ‘put in place temporary arrangements for the organisation's leadership’.

The man charged with overseeing plans to help children catch up on missed education in England has resigned just four months into the job. Sir Kevan Collins stepped down over the government’s pledge to spend just under one-and-a-half billion pounds on its recovery plan, calling it a ‘half-hearted approach which didn’t come close to meeting the scale of the challenge’. Boris Johnson said more resources will be ‘coming through’ to support children when catch-up plans were labelled a ‘damp squib’. Head teachers were "hugely disappointed" by a £1.4bn Covid recovery package, which breaks down to £50 extra per pupil per year. A report says £13.5bn is needed for pupils to catch up. Most of the funding will be for tutoring to make up for lost learning.

Arlene Foster announced her resignation as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and as NI first minister after an internal revolt. Mrs Foster said she would step down as DUP leader on 28 May, and as first minister at the end of June. Her decision came after she had to face a revolt among her party's representatives. Over twenty DUP NI assembly members and four MPs had signed a letter voicing no confidence in her leadership. She had become party leader in December 2015. Pray for the outworkings of Brexit and the Irish Sea border to be resolved amicably by her replacement. Pray for GB-NI trade difficulties to be diplomatically resolved, with restored trust in each other’s purposes and policies. Pray also for assembly members, worried about retaining their seats, to put loyalty in serving their country above their own political interests. See

Tracey Crouch, the sports minister, resigned on 1 November as a protest over the delay in cutting the maximum stakes from £100 in fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). The Government had announced this plan in May 2018 (see ), and Philip Hammond announced in his Budget Day speech it would come into force in October 2019. Ms Crouch said pushing back the date was ‘unjustifiable’, and could cost the lives of problem gamblers. She tweeted: ’Politicians come and go, but principles stay with us forever.’ Culture secretary Jeremy Wright denied Labour claims that MPs had been led to believe the cut would come into force in April 2019. But in her resignation letter, Ms Crouch said: ‘Unfortunately, implementation of these changes are now being delayed until October 2019 due to commitments made by others to those with registered interests.’