The Right Honourable Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss has been appointed to be Chair of the Crown Appointments Commission (CAC), the body that oversees the selection of a new Archbishop of Canterbury. The Commission, which consists of thirteen voting members and three non-voting members, is now complete after the Prime Minister's announcement earlier today.

Dame Butler-Sloss is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Medicine and Psychiatry and is actively involved with the Institute of Family Therapy and the National Association of Child-Care Centres. She is a lay member of the Church of England, has been President of the Family Division since 1999 and chairs the Council of St Paul's Cathedral.

The Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council and a non-voting member of the CAC, the Revd Canon John L Peterson, said, "I am thrilled with the appointment of Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss. She will bring a tremendous breadth to the Commission and I look forward to working with her."

Dame Butler-Sloss has been recognised for her significant contribution to the judiciary and development of the law. In 1997 and 1998, she became a familiar name in the media as a result of her leadership in the Cleveland child abuse inquiry, and again in the following year with her rise to the Court of Appeal.

A spokesman from Church House, the head office of the Church of England, said, "With this important appointment, the process of identifying the next Archbishop of Canterbury enters a new phase. The make-up of the Crown Appointments Commission is now complete and our thoughts and prayers will be with all its members as they undertake the complex and demanding challenges that lie ahead of them."

Article by: Matthew Davies