Glyn Webster

In August 2012, his appointment as the next Bishop of Beverley was announced[6] following the announcement in December 2011 that Martyn Jarrett would retire as Bishop of Beverley on 30 September 2012.[7] Beverley is the see reserved for the Provincial Episcopal Visitor for the Province of York.

Webster is a retired member of the Council of Bishops of The Society.[8]

On 21 March 2021, it was announced that Webster would retire from full-time ministry and step down as Bishop of Beverley at Epiphany (6 January) 2022.

In May 2016, Webster was one of six bishops accused of misconduct by an alleged victim of child sex abuse. He was cited in the Guardian and Church Times along with Peter Burrows, Steven Croft, Martyn Snow, Roy Williamson and Archbishop of York, John Sentamu as subject of Clergy Disciplinary Measure complaints owing to their inaction on the alleged victim's disclosure.[9][10] [11][12] The bishops contested the complaints because they were made after the church’s required one-year limit.[13] All six bishops were pictured on a protest brochure which the alleged victim handed out at Steven Croft's enthronement as Bishop of Oxford later that year.[14][15]

Webster was heavily criticised at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) within the Church of England, and doubts were raised regarding the veracity of the evidence he gave to the inquiry after a victim had alleged that he had spoken with Webster about historical abuse by another Anglican bishop, and that the victim had “been advised by him not to report it” and to move on.[16][17][18]

In October 2020, a report was published, entitled "A Betrayal of Trust" – an independent past case review requested by The Church of England, chaired by David Pearl. This found on the balance of probabilities that Webster had lied to the Independent Inquiry and had failed to act in a serious safeguarding breach within the Church.[19]

On 23 October 2020 the Church Times reported the above findings and other national newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times all published articles suggesting that Webster might lose his office as Bishop of Beverley and might be banned from episcopal and priestly ministry within the Church of England. Webster resigned in 2022 whilst the accusations were still being investigated. He retired in January 2022 and was replaced as Bishop of Beverley by Stephen Race.[20][21][22]