Litany of failure

After examining Waddington's health records and letters from 1999 to 2004, the Inquiry concluded Waddington was in fact healthy and fit enough to be investigated through those years.

A second set of allegations emerged in 2003, this time more recent allegations from two sisters of a former Manchester Cathedral choirboy.

Archbishop Hope again breached the child protection policy, committing five breaches of policy.

Judge Cahill found he failed to take any action at all, failed to make any record of his involvement, failed to consult his child protection advisor, failed to consider the current risk to children and failed to consider suspending Waddington's permission to conduct church services.

The Report found the victim, Eli Ward, who gave evidence to the Inquiry, may have been encouraged or enabled to speak out in 2003 if a police investigation had been launched.

In 2004 when more allegations were raised, this time by a former teacher employed by Waddington in Australia, Archbishop Hope finally suspended Waddington's permission to conduct church services.

However, he again breached child protection policies.

Archbishop Hope sent statements of complaint from two victims directly to Waddington in advance of an interview by a Diocesan staff member that should not have been carried out; failed to establish the current risk to children and made no records of his actions.

When the Australian investigation was dropped due to 'insufficient evidence', Archbishop Hope phoned Waddington who wrote back saying he was doing some entertaining and would be able to do so 'with a much more cheerful countenance'.

In evidence to the Inquiry, Archbishop Hope said he told every member of the clergy the details of any complaint against them in what he perceived to be a process of 'natural justice'.

But the Inquiry found that the only thing Archbishop Hope could hope to achieve by speaking to Robert Waddington himself was 'possible contamination of the case against him and prejudice to a police investigation'.

Judge Cahill found that the failures by church staff and clergy from 1999-2004 in the Dioceses of Manchester and York, including by Archbishop Hope meant that new child protection policies would have made no improvement to how the matter was handled.