Political reporter, BBC Wales News
BBCThe leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said she let survivors of abuse down when she took six months to arrange a meeting to discuss a historic case against a bishop.
Jane Dodds came under pressure from her own UK party leader Ed Davey last year when criticisms of her conduct at the Church of England re-emerged last November.
In an interview with Radio Wales Breakfast, the Member of the Senedd (MS) reiterated an earlier apology but could not remember why the meeting to discuss an abuse case was not arranged.
Dodds said she would continue as leader, and admitted her relationship with the UK leader had “changed” and would “take time to repair”.
Dodds was criticised in a report that looked at abuse committed by the late Bishop Hubert Victor Whitsey, who died in 1987, and how allegations were handled by the church.
Whitsey was found to have committed “appalling acts” against children, teenagers and vulnerable adults between 1966 and 1981.
In 2016 Dodds was serving as National Senior Casework Manager for the Church of England’s National Safeguading Team (NST).
In January 2016, Dodds had said she would convene a meeting of officials to discuss allegations made by an individual known as M2.
The meeting did not take place until six months later, in July.
The report said the NST had failed to follow guidance to hold a meeting regarding allegations by M2 within “as short a delay as possible”, and that M2 was “let down” by the NST as well as having been let down by the church “for many years previously”.
Investigators were unable to speak to Dodds during the course of their work. In response to their findings she admitted “clear shortcomings” but could not recall the case.
The report was published in 2020 but Dodds’ involvement was not widely known until it was reported by news website Nation.Cymru in late 2024.
In an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Davey called for the Welsh leader to reflect on her position.
Dodds, who is the party’s only MS and represents Mid and West Wales, apologised, but refused to resign.
The Liberal Democrat is currently playing a crucial role for the Welsh government, having been in discussions with Labour ministers on whether to help their budget pass. A deal is yet to be agreed.
‘Justice was delayed’
Dodds said she had worked in the Church of England for just under 12 months.
“When you’re in a role like that, and I’ve been working in child protection for around 25 years, you are operating with a number of cases, and you have to prioritise,” she said.
“I was really clear at the time that I don’t recollect the reasons why it took me six months to arrange a meeting.
“Justice was delayed for those survivors. They had come forward 30 years after their abuser had died. They were courageous and brave.
“I let them down and I apologised immediately. I apologised back in November, I apologise now.”
She had been a candidate for the then-National Assembly for Wales in the May 2016 election. Dodds denied neglecting the day job for her political ambitions.
“When you’re campaigning as a candidate, you have to keep the wolf from the door, you have to work, you have to maintain a salary. And so I was doing both.
“That’s the situation with many candidates, so I don’t accept that.”
‘I’m going to continue’
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are governed separately from the party across the border.
Dodds told BBC Wales said that at the time of the criticism from Davey she had spoken to “a number of people”, and said the leadership of the party’s Welsh board had “expressed their confidence in me”.
“I’m going to continue to be leader,” she said.
She admitted the relationship with Davey had “changed”.
Dodds added: “If you have a difference of opinion with a family member or a friend, then it does take time to repair, but we are making progress on that.”
