The Archbishop of York ruling on a complaint against his closest-ranking colleague, the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, is “madness” and risks looking like a “stitch-up”, advocates for victims of abuse have said.

Richard Scorer, a prominent lawyer for abuse victims at Slater and Gordon, said the Church of England’s problems with handling abuse allegations, dating back decades, could be summed up “in a nutshell” by their willingness to allow senior bishops to rule on cases involving their colleagues.

A General Synod member has called on the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell to step down as the official overseer of a complaint that has been lodged against the Right Rev Dame Sarah Mullally, who is Bishop of London and due to take up the role of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of next month.

She is accused of improperly handling an abuse allegation against a priest in the London diocese a number of years ago. The complaint is being formally considered by Church of England officials after being mistakenly shelved.

A report will be passed to Cottrell, who is due to work closely alongside Mullally when the pair make up the church’s only two archbishops. He will decide whether to dismiss the complaint or refer it for investigation by a disciplinary tribunal.

The Rev Robert Thompson, a priest who sits on the General Synod, the church’s assembly, said: “Stephen Cottrell should step down as the person deemed as the person to adjudicate on the [complaint] as they are close working colleagues.” Thompson noted that Cottrell had also faced criticism over his own handling of abuse allegations against priests in the past.

A spokeswoman for Cottrell said the church’s laws, which form part of the law of the land, required complaints against bishops to be considered by an archbishop, adding: “The Archbishop of York has had no prior involvement in this case and there is therefore no basis for delegation.”

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