The Rev. Bernard Randall, a former Church of England school chaplain who was dismissed and referred to a terrorism prevention program after telling students they should not be forced to accept LGBT ideology, has reached a legal settlement following a seven-year fight.
Randall has also been cleared to seek a return to ministry in the Church of England after safeguarding concerns that kept him from officiating in church services for seven years were substantively overturned.
The dispute began in 2019 after Randall preached in the chapel of Trent College, a Church of England-affiliated independent school in Nottingham. His sermon came in response to a student who asked why pupils were being told they “have to accept” teaching on LGB and transgender identity at a Christian school.
In the sermon, Randall told students, “Now when ideologies compete, we should not descend into abuse, we should respect the beliefs of others, even where we disagree. Above all, we need to treat each other with respect, not personal attacks – that's what loving your neighbor as yourself means.
“By all means discuss, have a reasoned debate about beliefs, but while it's OK to try and persuade each other, no one should be told they must accept an ideology. Love the person, even where you profoundly dislike the ideas. Don't denigrate a person simply for having opinions and beliefs which you don't share.”
Trent College suspended Randall after the sermon and later told him he was being fired for gross misconduct.
The school also referred him to Prevent, the government’s terrorism prevention scheme, as well as to the local authority designated officer for safeguarding, the Teaching Regulation Agency and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Randall appealed his dismissal and succeeded, allowing him to return to work, though he was issued a final warning. He later lost his position after refusing to accept a reduction of the chaplaincy role from full time to seven hours per week during term time only.
Although the statutory agencies involved found no case for him to answer, the Church of England took a different approach and treated him as “a safeguarding risk to children,” despite the sermon reflecting the denomination’s official doctrine.
The Christian Legal Centre, which supported Randall throughout the case, said Bishop of Derby Libby Lane would not allow him to officiate in church services unless he agreed to an independent safeguarding assessment. Randall refused, arguing that doing so would amount to a tacit admission of wrongdoing.
After the statutory bodies cleared him, the Church of England still declined to reinstate him. Randall then filed a complaint against Bishop Lane, but then-Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby refused to allow a formal investigation.
Welby’s decision was later criticized by Gregory Jones KC, a senior Church of England legal officer for clergy discipline, as “clearly wrong.”
Dame Sarah Asplin, the Church of England’s President of Tribunals, later effectively overruled Welby by finding that Randall had no case to answer, while also identifying flaws in the process and recommending that it begin again.
Following a review by an independent investigator for the Diocese of London, the Church of England’s safeguarding position regarding Randall has now been overturned in substance. Randall has completed mandatory safeguarding training and is eligible to apply for permission to officiate in the Church of England.
A confidential settlement has also been reached with Trent College, bringing an end to the lengthy legal dispute after an earlier employment tribunal judgment against Randall was overturned.
Responding to the outcome, Randall said he regretted losing seven years “for doing my duty as a CofE chaplain in a school with a CofE ethos.”
“I am relieved that this legal ordeal has finally reached a settlement, but nothing can restore the years that have been taken from me. I was reported to Prevent, treated as a safeguarding risk, and shut out of ministry for preaching a sermon rooted in CofE doctrine,” he said.
“My case has revealed the extent of the corruption within the Church [of England], our schools and in the judiciary, and should deeply concern us all.”
