UK chaplain reaches settlement after seven-year battle over LGBTQ sermon dismissal

A confidential settlement has ended a seven-year legal dispute between the Rev. Bernard Randall and Trent College, an independent K-12 school in Derbyshire, England, that fired him for gross misconduct after he delivered a chapel sermon defending pupils' right to hold traditional Christian beliefs. An independent Church of England review by the Diocese of London subsequently cleared Randall of all safeguarding allegations, ruling the concerns "unsubstantiated" and finding no evidence of harm.

The catalyst: a sermon on belief and conscience

Randall, an ordained Church of England minister, had served as chaplain at Trent College for five years when the school partnered, in 2018, with Educate and Celebrate, an outside group whose stated goal was to "smash heteronormativity" and embed queer theory in school culture. That group has since dissolved. Randall said he raised objections with senior leadership at the time but was not heard.

The following year, a student asked why pupils at a Christian school were required to accept LGBTQ ideology. Randall addressed that question, along with similar concerns raised by other students and staff, in a chapel sermon on freedom of belief and conscience. He told students they were entitled to hold traditional Christian views on marriage and biological sex, while emphasizing respect for those who disagreed.

The numbers and the legal record

Days after the sermon, school administrators summoned Randall to a meeting, suspended him, and launched an investigation. He was reported to local law enforcement and to Prevent, the UK government's counterterrorism program. Prevent concluded he posed no terrorist threat. The Diocese of Derby separately blacklisted him as a safeguarding risk to children.

Trent College dismissed him for gross misconduct. On appeal he was reinstated, but under conditions restricting his sermon topics and requiring prior administrative approval for chapel content. Furloughed during the pandemic, he was made redundant on Dec. 31, 2020.

The Christian Legal Centre backed his employment tribunal challenge. An initial tribunal ruled against him. The Employment Appeal Tribunal then set aside that ruling, ordered a full retrial, and required Trent College to pay £20,000 in costs. A settlement followed shortly after.

What it means for the setup

The Diocese of London review's clearance removes the formal basis on which the Diocese of Derby had blacklisted Randall. After seven years out of ministry, the legal and ecclesiastical proceedings have ended in his favor on both fronts.

Randall said in a statement that nothing could replace those seven years. "I encouraged pupils to think, to debate, and to love their neighbours whatever they believed," he said. "No minister, teacher or chaplain should be punished for upholding Christian teaching in a Christian setting."

He told Fox News Digital he was troubled by the Church of England's handling of the case, noting that officials spent years disciplining him for teaching orthodox church doctrine. He also voiced wider concern about the direction of free speech protections in Britain, and said attention from US officials, including Vice President JD Vance's past criticism of UK speech restrictions and State Department concerns over British buffer zone laws, gave him measured hope.

What to watch next

Randall has completed mandatory safeguarding training and is now eligible to return to public ministry. Permission to Officiate from the Bishop of Derby, Libby Lane, has not yet been granted. The Diocese of Derby told Fox News Digital it is "happy to continue supporting Dr Randall's potential return to ministry" and has pointed him toward current vacancies in the diocese, the Church of England's "Pathways" recruitment portal, and the Clergy Transitions Service.