Calls for Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to resign over 'links to ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells'

16 January 2024, 09:42 | Updated: 16 January 2024, 09:45

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is facing calls to step down after he was said to have backed ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells when she was in the running to become Bishop of London.

Queen Elizabeth's former chaplain, Rev Canon Jeremy Haselock, called for Justin Welby to resign after it was claimed he pushed Ms Vennells' application for Bishop of London.

It comes after she said she will hand back her CBE with immediate effect amid the fallout of the Horizon IT scandal, which led to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of sub-postmasters.

Ms Vennells, who is an ordained priest but does not hold a senior position in the Church of England, is understood to have been interviewed for the role.

She was still head of the Post Office at the time before she stood down in 2019 - the same year she received the CBE for services to the Post Office and to charity.

Ms Vennells was in the final shortlist of three but was not appointed, according to the BBC.

Read more: Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells was 'shortlisted to be Bishop of London'

Read more: Theresa May's government 'pushed through' with Paula Vennells' CBE despite Horizon concerns

David Lammy caller annoyed annoyance Paula Vennells hasn't faced more repercussions

A source told the Telegraph that "Justin was close to her" and "he was always very supportive of her when she was a member of the Church of England ethical investment advisory committee".

Another source said: "I have heard that Welby pushed for her. Apparently the meeting of the Crown Nominations Committee in 2017 was quite fortuitous because Paula had no parish experience and was a self-supporting minister.

"Over the past 10 years the church has become more of a business model, so the whole idea of Paula Vennells being the supposed favourite candidate of Justin Welby links to the whole businessification of the church under his reign."

In a social media post seen by the paper, Rev Haselock, who is now an associate priest at Great St Bartolomew's in London, is understood to have said: "Surely this is the point at which Welby must go.

"Another demonstration of his complete lack of sound judgement.

"His backing for this woman for episcopal office shows how completely he fails to understand the nature of that office.

"His total failure to bring pastoral care to the fore during the pandemic and the disastrous decisions he made at that time shows his complete and utter lack of understanding of the Church and its ministry.

"His has been a terrible primacy and clutching his Royal Victorian Order, he should go.”

Following the initial claims, a spokesperson for the Church of England said: "We never make any comment on who is a candidate, or not, in what is a confidential discernment process."

Ms Vennells was ordained as a priest in 2006 and later went on to be an associate minister in the diocese of St Albans.

She faced mounting pressure for her CBE to be revoked after ITV aired Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which dramatised the Horizon scandal.