The first female Archbishop of Canterbury will be confirmed in a service next month in St Paul’s Cathedral. Many have applauded Bishop Sarah Mullally’s historic appointment.

But Channel 4 News has been investigating a series of scandals on her watch in the Diocese of London.

One of the most disturbing controversies involves the death of a priest called Alan Griffin, five years ago.

Father Alan was the chaplain at Exeter University before becoming a rector in the City of London.

Nicholas Sabine, who previously worked in compliance for the Bank of England, was a friend of Father Alan’s for half a century.

Speaking publicly for the first time, he told us about his old friend. “So I knew him well at university. Although he was an authority figure, he was first and foremost a scholar and an academic.

“He was gregarious, witty, amusing, a good memory for people and a great liking for people.”

Mr Sabine says Father Alan kept his mental health struggles to himself.

“I don’t think that he was the sort of person who wanted to bother others with any trials and tribulations,” he told Channel 4 News.

“I think he was a great friend and a great listener and a great adviser. I think he had great self control.”

‘Lurid claims’

Alan Griffin took his own life after his name appeared in a dossier compiled in secret by a former head of operations in the London Diocese.

The document contained an array of lurid claims about 42 Church of England clergy members: some referred to criminal convictions and some were serious safeguarding concerns. But others were simply tittle tattle.

And fabricated gossip about Father Alan was to have deadly consequences.

Mr Sabine said: “Well, I think that the accusations, the lies that were spread within the Church about him would have been devastating to him. He had really high standards, he was a very moral person and he would think that other people would believe these lies, would have been devastating to him.”

Father Alan had tried to take his life before, when he found out he was HIV positive. Then, just weeks after he discovered his name was in the secret dossier, Father Alan again attempted suicide.

Eleven months later, still unaware of the specific allegations against him, he tried a third and final time – and, tragically, was successful.

‘No evidence’

A year after Father Alan’s suicide, Senior Coroner Mary Hassell ruled: “He killed himself because he could not cope with an investigation into his conduct, the detail of and the source for which he had never been told…

“He did not abuse children. He did not have sex with young people under the age of 18.

“He did not visit prostitutes. He did not endanger the lives of others by having sex with people whilst an HIV risk…And there was no evidence that he did any of these things.”

Nevertheless, the coroner said those were the allegations that the Church of England put in an email to a Catholic diocese after Father Alan converted to Roman Catholicism in 2012.

Mr Sabine believes his friend was “crushed” by the institution of the Church.

“I worked for banks all my life. I don’t consider the Church of England to be any different from any other major institution. So what went through my mind was, yes, the Church of England and the senior management are no different from a bank or an oil company. People are crushed.

“Large institutions put the institution first.”

‘Two Cities report’

Martin Sargeant was the man who came up with the original report on the 42 clergy, despite having a guilty secret himself: a conviction for theft in the 1990s.

Sargeant was a gambling addict who – it later transpired – had stolen church funds to fuel his habit.

He left his post as head of operations in the London Diocese soon after Sarah Mullally became Bishop. But, on his way out, he suggested compiling what he called a “brain dump” for the Archdeacon of London.

Those allegations were discussed in nine hours of meetings.

The dossier that emerged from those conversations became known as ‘the Two Cities report’, covering Westminster and the City of London.

Bishop Sarah’s account

Another priest who heard he too had been smeared in the report confronted Bishop Sarah in a covertly recorded meeting.

In the audio, which Channel 4 News has heard, Bishop Sarah acknowledges she personally received the report, but claims she never read it.

She can be heard saying: “When the safeguarding team sorted out what was gossip and wasn’t gossip, I never went back and read that report, because why would I want to know what gossip was?”

But the rector of a London church, who was led to believe he was also in the report, disputes Bishop Sarah’s account.

Simon Grigg told Channel 4 News: “After the Two Cities report, this is all during lockdown, there was a Zoom meeting because people were expressing a great deal of concern.

“And during that Zoom meeting, the Bishop of London said she hadn’t read the report. So, I unmuted myself and I said ‘Bishop, that cannot be true’. And she said, ‘oh, yes, it is true’, and I said, ‘but you assured me that I wasn’t in the report and it’s difficult to see how you could assure me that I wasn’t in the Two Cities report if you haven’t read the Two Cities report’.

To which she responded that she was ‘aware of its contents’, but I don’t quite see how that works.”

The Diocese of London tonight told Channel 4 News that Bishop Sarah did not read the report because its contents needed to be properly assessed by safeguarding professionals and the Diocesan Registrar. She confirms she was informed which members of the clergy had been named so that she could write to them and meet with them if they wished.

‘Bishop Sarah failed in her duties’

London priest and general synod member the Rev Robert Thompson says whether or not Bishop Sarah read the report, she’s failed in her duties.

“The issue is did she read the report? If she didn’t read the report, that shows that she was not taking her responsibility as a Bishop properly.

“If she did read the report and did nothing about it all, that also shows that she has done nothing in relation to her proper responsibility as a Bishop about the report,” Rev Robert told us.

Mr Sabine said he agreed.

“In my experience in banking, such a report would have been very carefully considered by the senior management,” he said.

“At some stage it would have been referred up and board members, or whoever they are in the Church of England, would have got to hear about it and would have been asking questions.”

After Father Alan’s death, the coroner took the unusual step of issuing a report to prevent future deaths.

In it, she criticised the Church for “systemic and individual failings”, a failure initially to engage fully in the inquest process and “a lack of…meaningful reflection”.

The London Diocese, under Bishop Sarah’s leadership, commissioned an independent review recommending wholesale reform. Bishop Sarah herself apologised unreservedly.

Calls for independent investigation

But Mr Sabine wants the Church to go further.

“I think the Church should establish a truly independent investigation throughout the country into records held on individual priests where their lives may have been ruined by the records and the use of this gossip and maybe lies and those priests should be compensated or their lives should be put right,” he told us.

He says he was angry after his friend’s death but now prefers to remember the happy times: the “perfect job” Father Alan found as a priest on cruise ships.

“He combined his pastoral care and giving the services on board with lecturing on the classics, his area of academic expertise,” Mr Sabine said.

Sarah Mullally was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury after the unprecedented resignation of her predecessor – who admitted failing to do enough to follow up on reports of abuse.

Now, before she’s even confirmed as Justin Welby’s successor, the Bishop of London is facing troubling questions about her own failure to act.

Bishop Sarah told us today:

“In 2022, following the publication of the independent report into Fr Alan Griffin’s death, I apologised unreservedly to his family and friends. I repeat that apology today.

“Ever since I became Bishop of London in 2018, and before, I have spoken publicly about the clear need for independent scrutiny of safeguarding across the Church of England.

“That is why I commissioned the Robson Report into Fr Alan’s death, to examine exactly what went wrong in the tragic run-up to November 2020.The public recommendations from the independent report in 2022 have been vital ever since in driving forward change across the Diocese of London.

“That change has been embedded in the Diocesan Safeguarding Team today, as has the need for continuous safeguarding improvement and culture change.

“Nevertheless, I understand why now, as I prepare to become Archbishop of Canterbury, there will be renewed scrutiny of past cases, and especially my role.

“As I said when announced as the next Archbishop on the 3rd October 2025, we must all be willing to have light shone on our actions, regardless of our role in the Church. I continue to be determined to improve safeguarding across the Church of England.

“In this Diocese, as part of an ongoing programme across all dioceses, we have recently undergone an independent safeguarding audit by INEQE. We will want to use its findings and recommendations, which will be made public, to build on the progress made to date.”

The Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop Joanne Grenfell told us:

“As Bishop of Stepney, I worked alongside Bishop Sarah in the Diocese of London from 2019 to 2025. During that time, I witnessed her commitment to good safeguarding, to ensuring proper safeguarding systems and processes, and to shaping a healthier culture across the Diocese.

“Notable changes included increasing resourcing for the diocesan safeguarding team and creating a multi-background, skilled team with excellent oversight of casework and decision making. Governance was also strengthened, with regular oversight and scrutiny from an independently chaired Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel and from the Bishop’s Council.

“The Diocese is a large and complex organisation, and Bishop Sarah clearly inherited a culture where, in places, light had not been shone on unacceptable behaviour. She was utterly committed and principled in setting about changing that culture and ensuring that any concerns were addressed with rigour.

“In her response to recent news reports, I continue to see Bishop Sarah’s commitment to honesty and transparency in safeguarding, a commitment which I am glad she will also bring to the role of Archbishop of Canterbury.”