Anne Dyer is represented by a top-flight lawyer. He was a key part of the team that successfully defended Alex Salmond against allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and attempted rape. He was selected as The Times’ lawyer of the week in April 2020 and his firm is ranked Band 1 by the Legal 500 for crime, fraud and licencing work.
Dyer was the subject of a Scottish Episcopal Church investigation and disciplinary process from July 2022 to October 2024 in connection with a range of different allegations against her.
The SEC’s Procurator, a respected King’s Counsel, found that there was “sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction in respect of each allegation” against Dyer. These allegations included that “she did… bully, harass and discriminate against” a disabled adult.
Despite these findings, the SEC dismissed the allegations against Dyer on the basis that it would not be in the “public interest” to take them to its Clergy Discipline Tribunal and with a view to “general confidence in the Church”.
It has been suggested that the SEC may have felt that the details of the allegations against Dyer were too shocking and potentially damaging to the Church to be shared publicly at a tribunal.
It is reported that the case against Dyer was sufficiently compelling and well supported that her lawyer was unable to persuade the Procurator that there was not “sufficient evidence” to convict her of the allegations before him. This was despite Dyer’s lawyer’s excellent credentials and experience defending clients against very serious allegations.
Much if not all of Dyer’s legal costs are understood to have been covered by a policy paid for by the SEC. The SEC are understood to have offered no legal support or help with costs to complainers, who were lay people and had to put their respective cases against Mrs Dyer without the benefits of the assistance she was provided.
This significant inequality did not ultimately alter the Procurator’s view that there was a “legal sufficiency of evidence” to convict Dyer given the reported strength of evidence against her.
A member of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway said, “I had not realised that the SEC may have dismissed the allegations against Anne Dyer to save face. That’s how it looks when you read the decision.
“The KC’s findings against Anne Dyer are more than a little telling given that she had access to a crack defence lawyer and the complainers were left unsupported by the SEC.
“Anne Dyer seems to have disgraced both her position and the Church. How on earth can she hope to minister to people in the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney?”