Published on: 05/09/2025
It was announced on Thursday 4 September that a re-trial of Chris Brain is to take place in September next year, after the jury of this year’s trial was unable to reach a verdict on four counts of indecent assault and one count of rape. Brain was found guilty of 17 charges and not guilty of 15 others at the Inner London Crown Court, with all of the charges relating to former members of the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS) in Sheffield, with the incidents taking place between 1981 and 1995.
While I welcome the further opportunity for justice and clarity on the remaining charges, I recognise just how difficult this prolonged uncertainty will be for survivors. It is my hope that the following year will allow for the trial to be conducted smoothly, but it will be a profoundly difficult wait for many. The recent verdict on 32 charges will already, understandably, have caused a mixture of relief and distress.
As Bishop of Sheffield, I want to reiterate once more how deeply sorry I am for all of the harm suffered by the survivors in this case. As I have said previously, there was an appalling abuse of power in the leadership at the Nine O’Clock service and the concerns raised at the time were not acted upon properly. For the failures of the church in relation to this case, I sincerely apologise.
We are committed to supporting those affected. The Diocese will continue to cooperate fully with the police and any other authorities. Our diocesan safeguarding team is available to listen, to provide practical support and to signpost to independent counselling and specialist services. Anyone who needs help or who has information to share is invited to contact the Diocese of Sheffield Safeguarding Team at nos-support@sheffield.anglican.org or visit www.sheffield.anglican.org/safeguarding. Alternatively, you may prefer to access the independent support set out here: sheffdio.org/NOSsupport.
As I have already made clear, as part of our ongoing learning, I will be commissioning an independent Safeguarding Practice Review (SPR). The detail and scope of this will be decided in the Autumn, but will examine our safeguarding responses, culture, and processes so that we can identify where lessons can be learned and strengthen best practice for the future.