[Anglican Communion News  Service] An independent review has been carried out into the way the Church of England handled allegations that the former bishop of Chichester, George Bell, sexually abused a young girl in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In October 2015, the Church of England issued a statement in which it announced that the complainant had received compensation and an apology. The statement also said that Sussex police had confirmed “that the information obtained from their enquiries would have justified, had he still been alive, Bell’s arrest and interview, on suspicion of serious sexual offenses.” The Church asked senior human rights lawyer Lord Carlile to undertake a review of their handling of the case, after supporters of Bell accused it of unfairly deciding Bell’s guilt.

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