C of E’s £100m plan to address historical links to slavery faces legal challenge

General Synod hears that Project Spire has not been abandoned but staff have received ‘vile abuse’ from critics

• https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/01/project-spire-dividing-church-of-england-explainer">What is Project Spire and why is it dividing the Church of England?

The Church of England is facing a legal challenge over https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/01/project-spire-dividing-church-of-england-explainer">Project Spire, its £100m plan to further reparative justice for historical links to enslavement, as staff come under “vile abuse” from critics.

At the General Synod in York over the weekend, Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, defended the project as a “work of healing, justice and repair”.