Anglican bishops ‘losing moral authority’ to sit in Lords after abuse scandal
Lord Birt called for the Lords Spiritual to be removed alongside bloodline members of the House.
The Church of England is “losing moral authority”, a former BBC boss said as he called for the 26 bishops in the House of Lords to be expelled along with hereditary peers.
Former director-general of the BBC Lord Birt argued that “recent events” had “powerfully and emphatically” demonstrated this loss of moral authority.
His comments came after a historic abuse scandal led the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign from his position last month.
Justin Welby stepped down after the Makin review found he “could and should” have reported child abuser John Smyth to the police in 2013 and criticised the Church for not doing enough to prevent further abuse until he died.
As peers in Westminster debated the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill during an extended second reading, Lord Birt called for the Lords Spiritual to be removed alongside bloodline members of the House.
He said: “I entirely agree that the participation of hereditary peers in the upper chamber as a birth right is a medieval overhang and should be ended…
“This Bill should be amended to remove another feudal overhang, namely the right of Church of England bishops to have a guaranteed place in this House.”
He added: “Recent events have demonstrated powerfully and emphatically that the Church of England is losing moral authority.”
Lord Birt also argued that fewer than half of the UK’s population identify as Christian and that, of those, more people declare themselves to be Catholic than Anglican.
He said: “We are a country of many faiths and no faith.
“Our established church is not even a church for the whole of the United Kingdom – its very name reminding us that it is established in only one of the four nations of this United Kingdom.”
Meanwhile, Labour peer Lord Rooker called for the bishops to be expelled further down the road in a different Bill, but said he would “make an exception” for the Bishop of Newcastle, who he said has proven herself to be a “bishop of substance”.
The Rt Rev Helen-Ann Hartley – the only bishop to call publicly for the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign – previously said an “old school” culture put the reputation of the Church “before the protection of the vulnerable”.
She also published a letter she received from Mr Welby and the Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, which she said demonstrated “systemic dysfunction of how the hierarchy of the Church of England has dealt with matters of safeguarding”.
