the toxic legacy remains of Rowan Williams’ bad judgment and worse conduct eight years ago when he first proposed his then friend, John, as a bishop. He got into a battle that he could not afford to lose, but which he was not prepared to fight to win… Williams waited until the decisive moment and then caved in. The only charitable explanation is that he decided that the church’s credibility and effectiveness in the developing world outweighed solving first world problems… What needs saying, loud and clear, is that the case for liberalism here is every bit as religious, and as theologically informed, as the case for the conservatives.

So who is there who can make this point? Which internationally respected Anglican theologian has the convictions, and the courage of them, to speak out against these bullying assumptions? The answer would once have been – obviously – Williams. Oh dear.