The Church of England’s second most senior cleric has been cleared of misconduct over his handling of a priest who committed sexual abuse. Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, was criticised after he allowed the disgraced priest David Tudor to remain in ministry during his oversight from 2010, despite Tudor’s history of sexual abuse. Tudor was barred from ministry for life in 2024 after acknowledging he had sexual relationships with two teenage girls, aged 15 and 16, in the 1980s. “They were mistaken and regrettable appointments […] He should have appreciated they would be regarded as deeply painful for victims and survivors of Tudor,” Males said. However, “in the very difficult circumstances” Cottrell inherited, Males concluded the appointments were “made in good faith and do not amount to misconduct”.