THE Church of England has “totally lost” the public’s trust, child abuse survivors said today after bishops voted against moving to fully independent safeguarding.

A motion that would have seen all church-employed safeguarding officers transferred to a new independent body was rejected by the General Synod on Tuesday.

Members of the church’s parliament instead voted overwhelmingly for diocesan and cathedral officers to remain with their current church employers, while most national staff move to a new outside body.

Abuse survivors’ representatives branded the outcome a “punch in the gut” for victims of abuse and said it showed that the church had decided to “keep it in the family.”

Andrew Graystone, a long-time advocate for abuse survivors, accused the church of “shocking arrogance” and said the General Synod had “voted for a measure that will leave the power of bishops completely unchanged and unchallenged.”

The Survivors Trust group said: “Public trust in the church to effectively safeguard children has been totally lost.

“Church leaders must reconsider their approach and take immediate steps toward genuine, independent safeguarding reform.

“The protection of children and vulnerable adults should not be left in the hands of those who have historically failed them.”

The church’s safeguarding lead, Bishop Joanne Grenfell, who had put forward the proposal for fully independent safeguarding, said: “I’m really disappointed, as were many, that Synod missed the opportunity to send an unequivocal message to victims and survivors and the wider nation that we hear their pain and concerns.”

Ms Grenfell warned that victims and survivors of abuse — some of whom had gathered outside the venue ahead of Tuesday’s debate — felt that they had not been listened to.

While members had “heard the complexity of doing this and they wanted further assurance about the governance responsibilities around that,” they had not “heard strongly enough that the nation is watching and that victims and survivors say that this is what they need to restore trust and confidence,” she argued.

“I don’t think we can hide behind those complex structures. That’s just not good enough for victims and survivors. So yeah, we’re complex, but we need to change and that means changing our structures.”

Following the vote, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell also said that he was “disappointed,” after having backed the more independent model.