Ex-nurse hoping to help the Church's medicine go down

While most in the CofE welcome Sarah Mullally breaking its stained-glass ceiling, her appointment may not sit so well with conservative congregations, says Catherine Pepinster

- By Catherine Pepinster

Just hours before the new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, one Church of England cleric quipped: “Three people have told me that they know on good authority who it is, and then they gave me three different names.”

Just hours before the new Archbishop of Canterbury was announced, one Church of England cleric quipped: “Three people have told me that they know on good authority who it is, and then they gave me three different names.” Lord Evans of Wearsdale - the former head of MI5, Jonathan Evans, who chaired the Crown Nominations Commission that recommended Sarah Mullally for the post to the prime minister - will have been delighted that the intelligence never leaked before the formal announcement that the role has gone to the first woman to hold the position.

The choice of Mullally, who has been Bishop of London for almost eight years, is in many ways a predictable one: a former chief nurse in the NHS, for which she received her damehood, she has shown herself to be a highly capable administrator. She has also helped the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, run the Church of England since the shock resignation of Justin Welby following a safeguarding scandal 10 months ago.

Choosing Mullally is, in effect, choosing a safe pair of hands.