A breakaway Anglican group that rejects premarital sex and gay marriage has started holding meetings in Harrogate. 

As yet, the group has only a handful of members, but its leader, Hugh Davis, believes more discontented conservative Anglicans will join as news of it spreads. 

He said:

“Since 2008, there have been progressively retrograde steps by the Church of England to accept more liberal interpretations of the Bible. We believe these behaviours and teachings are contrary to the traditional teachings of the Bible. As these ideas percolate down to the general congregation, more people will be discomfited and, like me, think ‘what do I do now?’.

“It’s not homophobic. I’ve worked for many years with people attracted to people of the same sex. I accept their views, but I also expect them to accept mine.” 

The issue of homosexuality has long been a contentious matter in the Anglican Church. In 2008, a group of conservative bishops, many from the global south, declined to attend the Lambeth Conference in protest at the consecration Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire. They instead convened in Jerusalem for the Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon). 

Just last week, the Church of England’s General Synod agreed not to change its stance on gay marriage – same-sex couples will still not be allowed to marry in church – but it backed proposals to allow prayers of blessing for same-sex couples.

The new Life Group in Harrogate is one of several under the auspices of Trinity Church Scarborough, which is part of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), which in turn is aligned with the Gafcon movement of Anglican orthodoxy. 

Mr Davis, who is retired, said:

“The latest teachings in the Church of England are very different from what I was taught as a boy. I wasn’t happy – I couldn’t make sense of it.

“Things moved on, so I decided I would move on too.” 

Having attended St Mark’s Church in Harrogate for 30 years, Mr Davis finally left, but stressed it was not an easy move to make. He said: 

“It was difficult, and took several months of talking to and confiding with friends. It was very painful – I’d even say that leaving the Church of England was a bigger decision than getting married.” 

The new midweek Life Group meets fortnightly in a member’s home. For more information, contact Mr Davis on 07802 833977, or email him at hughthewildfowler@btinternet.com. 

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A man who was stalked and harassed by his former partner has accused police of failing to take the case seriously because he was a gay man. 

Jack* and his partner of five years, Paul*, who both live in Harrogate, broke up in early 2021.  

Although the split was instigated by his partner, and was initially amicable, Jack said Paul soon began to turn up at his house and at places he would usually visit. 

Jack said: 

“Though there was no physical altercation, he often targeted my home. He tried to gain entry and would often appear in the garden – on one occasion my dog was nearly killed.

“He’d shout at people visiting my home from his car, monitor my friends and families activities. He used to set up dating profiles attempting to send abuse. There were occasions where he used my credit card details for online purchases, turned up at my place of work, approach me in restaurants…

“There were numerous situations like that over the course of five months. He started locating me and rev his car next to me if I was out walking.

“It meant I couldn’t operate a normal life without some kind of obstruction and feeling very unsafe and frightened.”

Eventually, after realising how much Paul’s actions were affecting his social and work life, Jack decided to contact the police last June. 

He was initially uncertain whether the situation was something the police would deal with, but was reassured by the call handler. 

“Immediately, they said it was stalking and harassment. They said they would send someone out, and he called later that day to organise a visit. He came to take a statement within a couple of days. 

“He repeated to me that it was serious and said my ex would be brought in and arrested and they would impose bail conditions to keep him away from me.” 

Relieved

Jack said he felt relieved he was being taken seriously and waited to receive an update from the officer. 

However, he never received a call. 

“A month went by and nothing had happened. I tried to get in contact and had no response. 

“Another month went by of the same thing. I heard there was a warrant out for his arrest, but after that a lot of time went by with nothing, no arrest, no feedback.” 

Meanwhile, Paul’s behaviour continued to make Jack feel uncomfortable. Jack reported further instances of stalking and harassment, but never heard anything back. 

He received a call from a specialist police officer who advised getting new locks, increasing home security and changing his routine. While Jack appreciated the advice, it also served as a reminder that he could be in danger. 

Jack was advised by specialist police to change his locks and increase his home security

By mid-September, Jack said he felt frustrated that he had still heard nothing and submitted a complaint to the police by email. It took six weeks for them to respond. 

The answer from an inspector in early November was that the PC assigned to his case was inexperienced, and had been given advice about his work.  

Paul had now been interviewed, he said, and a file would be submitted to the CPS for advice about charging him. 

In an email seen by the Stray Ferret, the inspector added: 

“I am sorry that you didn’t receive the service you expected, but this was purely down to [the officer’s] relative inexperience, managing competing pressures of his workload and his thought process in not thinking it appropriate to ring [Paul] or visit his work premises.” 

Yet more time passed with no information from the police. Jack emailed again asking for updates, and for a copy of his original statement, but received no response. 

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He heard no further until February this year, when IDAS – the domestic abuse charity which he had been put in touch with by police after he first called them – told him the case had been dropped five weeks earlier. 

The reason was nothing to do with evidence or proof. Rather, Jack said, it was because the officer dealing with the case had only passed the file to the CPS a week before charges had to be made or the case had to be dropped. 

Effectively, there was not enough time for the CPS to process it before the six-month deadline for dealing with the case had passed. 

While he accepts there is nothing he can do in his case, Jack said he hopes raising the issue publicly will help other victims who might face similar problems. 

He believes complaints of stalking and harassment are taken more seriously when made by women about men, but said that shouldn’t be the case. 

Jack said: 

“I have spoken to women in Harrogate who have been in the same situation and that’s not what happened for them. I have no doubt, if I had been a woman, it would have been very different. 

“It’s not about being homophobic. But when it’s a man complaining about a man, it’s treated differently.” 

Jack has now taken his complaint to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe. He is awaiting a response from her. 

He said: 

“If I had read a story about this situation six or eight months ago, I would have done something sooner. I would have known it was not normal procedure – a lot of people would just assume you can’t complain [about the police] and what they say goes, but it’s not always the case.” 

Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

The Stray Ferret contacted North Yorkshire Police, but we were told they could not respond while the case was being investigated by the PFCC.  

The PFCC’s office said it could not comment on an individual case because of data protection. A spokesperson declined to comment on the issue of whether gender or sexuality could play a part in officers’ handling of cases, but added: 

“If somebody is not happy with anything that the police do, they should contact our office and make a complaint and we will investigate it.

“Let us know about it, because people should be happy. We don’t like it when people are unhappy with the service that’s provided by the police.”

*names changed to protect identities