William Campbell-Taylor
William Campbell-Taylor (alias William Taylor)
Councillor
In office
20 March 2014 – 23 March 2017
Personal details
Born
William Goodacre Campbell-Taylor

(1965-07-04) 4 July 1965
Woking, UK
Political partyLabour
OccupationPriest

William Campbell-Taylor (also known by the alias William Taylor) is a British politician and Church of England vicar of St Thomas' Church, Clapton Common in the Diocese of London. In his autobiography Campbell-Taylor admits that he was suspended for sexual misconduct while in training for the priesthood at Westcott House, and he states "Some very dim views were taken. The College told me I would have to leave and that in due course the Bishop of Oxford would examine my case and decide whether I should be allowed to return".[1] He was the first party candidate to be elected to the Common Council of the City of London Corporation, which broke the tradition of Aldermen and Councilmen in the financial capital standing as non-party political independents, and was described by City A.M. newspaper as "even more controversial than could be expected".[2] He won the by-election in Portsoken for the Labour Party in March 2014 and stood down as Common Councilman before the election of March 2017.[3] In December 2017, Campbell-Taylor was heavily defeated in the by-election for Alderman of Portsoken Ward by Prem Goyal with a margin of 228 to 143 votes.[4]

The City Matters website states that William Campbell-Taylor "was forced to defend himself against allegations of sexual abuse", and he has been the subject of formal safeguarding, stalking and fraud complaints by Portsoken residents to Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally.[5] [6] [7] The Editor of the Church of England Newspaper published an article which states that a legal complainant of clergy sexual abuse under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 (CDM) had "been subjected to a campaign of harassment and bullying since he reported an indecent assault by a London clergyman" and that "he has now lodged CDM complaints against Bishop Sarah Mullally and the Rev William Campbell-Taylor".[8] In a follow-up article concerning the release by international artists of a music video about this case, the Editor of the Church of England Newspaper further states, "My article revealed that a legal complaint of clergy abuse filed with a Clergy Discipline Measure, was shockingly leaked by a Bishop to the alleged abuser".[9] Anglican clergyman and church abuse expert, Revd Stephen Parsons, further writes on this same case, "Another safeguarding episode that continues to haunt the part of London over which Joanne Grenfell has episcopal oversight...is a highly credible story of homosexual abuse with a CDM taken out against a well-connected clergyman who holds a post in Joanne’s area. Because of the power/status of the alleged offender, Survivor N was subject to some unpleasant harassment and was driven to attempt suicide".[10] The music video by Liam Ó Maonlaí, Steve Cooney and other artists alleges gross corruption and "Collusion" between Campbell-Taylor, who trained as a police chaplain to the Metropolitan Police in Hackney, with local police officers in the blocking and burying of complaints to police by his multiple abuse victims, and conversely the harassment of complainants, and abuse of legal process.[11] Oxford University Professor Martyn Percy writes a commentary on the song and the case, "Survivors N’s experiences are, sadly, typical of the current leadership of the Church of England. The collusion, coverups, misconduct, incompetence and corruption in safeguarding are well known".[12]

References

  1. ↑ Taylor, William (2001). This Bright Field: A Travel Book in One Place. London: Methuen. p. 236-237. ISBN 0413746909.
  2. ↑ Express KCS (20 March 2014). "By-election gives Labour its first ever seat in the City of London". City AM. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Pickford, James (21 March 2014). "Labour win raises questions on City of London's independence". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Aldermanic Election Portsoken Ward - Date of Election: 14 December 2017" (PDF). www.cityoflondon.gov.uk. City of London Corporation. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  5. ↑ Jacobs, Alan (11 July 2017). "William Campbell-Taylor, the Bishop Peter Ball Report and Clergy Abuse of Power". Virtue Online. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Davy, Jo (30 November 2017). "City council candidate hit by sexual abuse claims - City Matters". www.citymatters.london. CityMatters. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Sharma, Satish (29 March 2021). "CDM Complaint Against Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and William Campbell-Taylor, Hackney". Church of England Blog. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Carey, Andrew (1 April 2021). "How is the Church to Tackle Safeguarding?". Church of England Newspaper. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  9. ↑ Carey, Andrew (2 September 2022). "Irish folk singers challenge C of E on abuse" (PDF). Church of England Newspaper. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Parsons, Stephen (20 January 2023). "New Lead Bishop for Safeguarding: Questions? - Surviving Church". Surviving Church. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Conger, George (1 September 2022). "Irish Music Stars Release Song About Church of England Abuse". Anglican Ink. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Parsons, Stephen (29 August 2022). "A Song from Ireland in support of Survivors of Church Abuse - Surviving Church". Surviving Church. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.