Independent Review
Hi, I am Fiona Scolding KC and I am the Independent Reviewer appointed by the trustees of Soul Survivor Watford, Soul Survivor and Soul61 to carry out a review of the evidence produced following the allegations made and investigated by the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) and the St Albans Diocesan Safeguarding Team by numerous individuals against Mike Pilavachi. My colleague, Ben Fullbrook, has been appointed to assist me with the review.
You can find the full terms of reference below which explain what the review will cover. In summary, the review which I have been instructed to carry out is separate from the Church of England investigation. I will consider the allegations which were made to that investigation and the extent to which they identify lessons which can be learnt about past, current and future culture, practice, governance, oversight and safeguarding arrangements. At the conclusion of the review I will produce a report, which will be published in full and will be available here. Those who contribute to the report as complainants or as providers of information will be anonymised, unless they do not wish to be so. If you would like to contact me, all the details are below.
A Message from Fiona Scolding KC Regarding the Independent Review
The Soul Survivor independent review was launched in November 2023. Its terms of reference can be found above. As part of our review, we are considering the evidence which was provided to the National Safeguarding Team (NST) and Diocese of St Albans investigation into Mike Pilavachi. We recognise the trauma and difficulty that many of those contributing to the NST investigation may have faced when sharing their experiences. We do not want to cause you further upset and distress by meeting with you again (unless you wish to). However, we are unable to reflect your experiences in our report unless you give the NST consent to share them with us. With this in mind, we are asking those who have not yet provided such consent but wish to do so to contact us at soulsurvivor@landmarkchambers.co.uk by no later than 15 March.
In addition, we are aware that there may be other individuals who did not come forward to the NST but who may wish to come forward now. We would be keen to hear from you too. Again, please do contact us at soulsurvivor@landmarkchambers.co.uk. We would be grateful if any and all contributions could be provided by no later than 15 March 2024.
Contact Fiona
I am keen to hear from any one who is affected by the actions of Mike Pilavachi and events surrounding his work at Soul Survivor, Soul Survivor Watford or Soul61 and wishes to share information with me. Information you provide to me will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Notice which can be viewed here. It will be seen by myself and those assisting in the review. Please click below to email me.
Fiona Scolding KC
ABOUT FIONA
Fiona has expertise in issues relating to safeguarding, protection of children and vulnerable adults, education, healthcare, community care and equalities legislation in a variety of contexts.
Fiona has a particular interest and understanding of concerns and complaints relating to governance, standards and organisational culture, monitoring and inspection. She is interested in policy development as a tool for cultural change and improved outcomes for individuals. She is used to undertaking work with significant media and public interest on sensitive topics.
She was lead counsel to three different investigations at the Independent Inquiry for Child Sexual Abuse – relating to the Church of England and Church in Wales, schools in England and Wales and a plethora of other religious institutions.
Fiona is on the advisory board of SACPA (a safeguarding advisory group providing training and advice to organisations) and is involved in a number of initiatives relating to improving safeguarding in various organisations in the United Kingdom.
Ben Fullbrook
ABOUT BEN
Ben is a barrister at Landmark Chambers with a particular focus on public law.
Ben has significant experience of public inquiries and of safeguarding matters. He acted for four years (2018-2022) as junior counsel to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), where he focused in particular on abuse in the Church of England, Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks, and Safeguarding Culture and Leadership. Ben has also recently acted for individuals involved in the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
Ben also has considerable personal experience of governance and safeguarding issues, having been a school governor since 2019 and the Vice Chair of Trustees for a charity.
Background information
For background on the review, you can click below to see statements from Soul Survivor Watford and the Church of England.