A school chaplain, sacked and branded a safeguarding risk for preaching biblical sexual ethics, has been cleared to return to ministry after a seven-year battle.
In 2019, Revd Dr Bernard Randall was sacked and reported to the Government’s anti-terrorism unit for delivering a sermon which encouraged respectful debate on LGBT issues. He recently secured a settlement with the school, Trent College, and has now been cleared of all safeguarding concerns by the Church of England (CofE).
He lodged a complaint with the denomination after being asked to undergo an independent safeguarding assessment by his local Derby diocese, which he believed would amount to an admission of wrongdoing. After a two-year independent investigation, Revd Randall’s complaint was upheld.
Lessons to learn
The CofE investigation concluded that the allegation of “harm” from Dr Randall’s sermon “was unsubstantiated and there are no ongoing safeguarding concerns”.
Chief Executive Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre, the organisation that supported Dr Randall, commented that his case “has always been and still is a huge scandal”. She added: “Secular bodies repeatedly vindicated him, but the Church of England, the institution that should have supported him the most, repeatedly failed him.”
“Bernard’s case exposes how easily safeguarding process, equality policies and extreme transgender ideology can be misused to silence Christian beliefs. Schools, churches and public bodies must learn from this case and protect, rather than punish, lawful Christian expression.”
Years lost
Responding to the decision, Dr Randall said: “No minister, teacher or chaplain should be punished for upholding Christian teaching in a Christian setting.
(1)🚨BREAKING: After a seven-year, high-profile legal battle on multiple fronts, Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, has secured a legal settlement with Trent College and succeeded in overturning the Church of England’s (CofE) safeguarding… pic.twitter.com/1H4D1X7zbE
— Christian Concern (@CConcern) July 9, 2026
“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 continued: “I have experienced many dark hours, but I have come through it and now want to get on with my life and get back to what I have always loved and been passionate about doing: serving Jesus and his Church.”
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