The Church of England has said it has been made aware of a 'deeply regrettable data incident ' (27 August, 2025) involving the independent Redress Scheme administered by Kennedys Law LLP.
The Redress Scheme is the initiative set up to address the profound harm caused by Church-related abuse, and to offer not only financial redress but also formal apology, acknowledgment, therapeutic support, and other forms of bespoke redress.
The data incident resulted in the unintended disclosure by Kennedys Law of email addresses belonging to individuals who had registered for updates on the Redress Scheme.
Please see a statement from Kennedys Law about the incident
If you have been affected
The national church says it recognises the distress this incident has caused, particularly for survivors who trusted the scheme to handle their information with care and confidentiality.
If you have been affected by this matter in anyway, the national church has shared the following message with signposts to support:
First and foremost, our focus is on those affected. We recognise the distress this has caused, particularly for survivors who trusted the scheme to handle their information with care and confidentiality.
While the Church of England is not the data controller for the Redress Scheme and does not hold or manage the data in question, we are nonetheless profoundly concerned. We are in discussions with Kennedys to understand how this breach occurred and to ensure robust steps are taken to prevent anything similar from happening again.
Kennedys has taken full responsibility for the incident and is contacting all those affected directly to apologise and offer support. They have reported the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office and are investigating the circumstances thoroughly.
This should not have happened. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support efforts to restore trust and confidence.
Questions or concerns in relation to this data breach can be directed to KennedysDataProtectionOfficer@kennedyslaw.com
Finding support
If you have been impacted by this incident, there are a number of organisations who can offer support:
- Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service for anyone who has experienced abuse in relation to the Church of England, the Church in Wales, or the Catholic Church of England and Wales.
- Contact the Rochester Diocese Safeguarding Team or visit our Safeguarding pages
- Additional support services are listed here.
If you would like to talk to someone within the Church of England please email redress@churchofengland.org