Church of England faces new crisis as Bishop of Liverpool is accused of sexual assaults - and ex-Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's interim replacement is embroiled in new 'cover-up' claims

The Church of England is tonight facing a new crisis after it emerged two women made allegations of a sexual nature against the Bishop of Liverpool. The revelations were unearthed by a Channel 4 News investigation with Bishop Perumbalath accused of sexually assaulting one married woman in the Chelmsford diocese on separate occasions between 2019 and 2023. Tonight, a senior member of the General Synod accused the already underfire Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell of a 'cover up' after it emerged he knew of the sexual assault allegations before Bishop John was enthroned in April 2023. Two women have made separate allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against the Bishop of Liverpool John Perumbalath, with one of the complainants a CoE female bishop A senior member of the General Synod accused the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell of a 'cover up' after it emerged he knew of the sexual assault allegations before Bishop John was enthroned in April 2023 The senior member of the clergy is currently awaiting a seat in the House of Lords and is is one of just two bishops sitting on a commission overseeing clergy discipline. The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell last year faced calls to resign over his handling of an historical abuse case Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned after an internal report into his handling of the John Smyth abuse case was made public The two women disclosed the allegations last year to Andrew Graystone, an advocate for survivors of abuse in the Church of England.