Church of England bishops receive death threats over Dominic Cummings comments

North Yorkshire Police investigating message sent to Rev Helen-Ann Hartley

Several British bishops have received death threats after they criticisedthegovernment on Twitter for its handling of the Dominic Cummings debacle.

Following their tweets aboutthe government’s lack of transparency over Mr Cummings’ now notorious trip to County Durham, some bishops were sent threatening messages.

Dr John Inge, the Bishop of Worcester, is one of the senior clergy members who has spoken out against the prime minister in recent days and who has been sent a death threat for doing so.

After the prime minister’s press briefing on Sunday afternoon, he tweeted: “The PM’s risible defence of Cummings is an insult to all those who have made such sacrifices to ensure the safety of others.”

In a later statement, Dr Inge explained that he made the comments because the public “deserved a better explanation” for the senior aide’s actions during lockdown.

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Addressing concerns that religion and politics should not mix, he said: “One of my favourite Desmond Tutu quotes is, ‘When people say that religion and politics don’t mix, I wonder which bible it is they are reading’.He received huge numbers of death threats as a result of his conviction that the pursuit of justice is at the heart what Jesus asks of us.”

Dr Inge added that the row was beyond politics and was “a matter ... of life and death”, suggesting that thousands of people could die if trust in government advice is eroded.

As a result of his stance, he received a message which read: “Keep out of politics or we will kill you.”

Rev Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Ripon, was also sent a death threat because of the views she expressed on social media.

North Yorkshire Police have confirmed that someone sent the bishop a message on Sunday saying,“Stay out of politics or it will be the death of you”, after she had criticised the government over the Mr Cummings row.

The police force said in a statement: “A complaint has been made to North Yorkshire Police and inquiries are ongoing into the matter.”

Rev Hartley previously wrote that Mr Johnson’s defence of his adviser on Sunday lacked “integrity, trust and leadership”.

Christine Hardman, the bishop of Newcastle, said that she had also received a similiarly threatening email.

She expressed her concern for the person who sent the message, adding that she will “hold him or her in prayer”.

Rev Hardman had earlier tweeted she was “deeply troubled” by the prime minister’s defence of Mr Cummings."We can forgive mistakes and poor judgement and can understand and admire loyalty but forgiveness and understanding need openness and we did not see this tonight,” she said.

Another member of the clergy who received abuse following a social media post was Paul Bayes, the bishop of Liverpool.

He said that abusive messaging would not succeed, writing: "Public life in Britain today. Many of us have received this sort of message. It doesn't work."

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A spokesperson for the Church of England told The Independent: “A number of bishops have sadly received abusive and threatening messages in the last 24 hours, including a small number which needed to be reported to police.

“We know bishops are sadly not alone in experiencing this kind of intimidating behaviour, which is unacceptable wherever it comes from, and we will pray for those who behave this way. We urgently need a more generous and gracious public conversation in this country.”

Although it is unclear how the bishops' criticisms will affect the relationship between the Church of England and the government, one bishop has suggested that the Church of England might struggle to work with this government on the pandemicbecause of its handling of the row.

David Walker, the bishop of Manchester, tweeted on Sunday: “Unless very soon we see clear repentance, including the sacking of Cummings, I no longer know how we can trust what ministers say sufficiently for @churchofengland to work together with them on the pandemic.”

He also remarked thathe was “deeply grateful” to his colleagues who had expressed similar views on the matter.

Several commentators, including Douglas Murrayin The Spectator, have complained about the bishops'“interventions” into politics, arguing that there should be a separation between religion and politics.

More than two dozen Anglican bishops sit in the House of Lords and are known as the Lords Spiritual.