The Scottish Episcopal Church’s Procurator, a senior lawyer, found that there was a “legal sufficiency” of evidence to convict Anne Dyer of having bullied, harassed and discriminated against a disabled person before going on to make her redundant unlawfully.
Dyer’s spokesman, Alex Barr of The BIG Partnership, has since stated on her behalf that, “[i]t is important to stress that [Dyer] was acting in accordance with… legal and professional advice at all times”.
This statement is untrue. The SEC’s Preliminary Proceedings Committee issued a decision on 8 November 2023 which found that Dyer had been provided with legal advice from employment specialists that confirmed that she needed to take the question of making her disabled victim redundant to the Diocesan trustees.
However, Dyer did not seek the trustees’ approval for redundancy at the next trustee meeting on 1 June 2020. Instead, she had already unilaterally written to her disabled victim to make her post redundant just days before the trustee meeting was due to take place.
Dyer did not table this letter at the meeting and allowed other trustees to leave under the impression that no decision about her disabled victim’s redundancy had been made.
Dyer did this despite her redundancy letter of 25 May 2020, which she sent to her disabled victim on a local public holiday. Evidence suggests Dyer attempted to conclude all aspects of the redundancy process prior to the trustee meeting even taking place, but was unable to do so in time.
It is unclear why Barr is passing untrue information, designed to help defend somebody a senior lawyer has ruled there is enough evidence to convict of abuse, to the press.
One source reported that Barr was himself “misled by Dyer and is considering withdrawing from acting for Dyer to protect his integrity, professional reputation and firm“.
Another said, “Dyer is plainly a liar. She’s misled her fellow trustees and lied to try and get out of having done so. It seems almost pathological. What else has she lied about?
“It should be no surprise given what’s been said and the fact she was put on gardening leave in her previous role in Durham before resigning, following similar allegations of misconduct.
“I’m glad some of the bishops have shown some backbone today, albeit very belatedly. Goodness knows what Bishop Paton is thinking.”
A senior figure in the Church said, as reported by The Times’ Marc Horne, that “[t]his is the end of the road for Bishop Anne. All that remains is whether she chooses to stand down or is forced out.”
Barr and The BIG Partnership have been contacted for comment.
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