Telegraph confirms what bookies suspected: it's Welby

Jonathan Wynne Jones and John Bingham report in the Telegraph:


Justin Welby, the Bishop of Durham, has accepted the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Sources have confirmed that the Eton-educated bishop will be announced as successor to Dr Rowan Williams as early as Friday, after the Crown Nominations Commission put his name forward to Downing Street.

It marks a meteoric rise for the former oil executive who has been a bishop for less than a year, but insiders described Welby as "the outstanding candidate".

Last night a spokesman refused to confirm his appointment. But it came a few hours after he pulled out at short notice from a planned appearance on the BBC Radio 4 discussion programme Any Questions due to take place in County Durham on Friday.

He also cut short a retreat with diocesan staff returned to the capital where it is understood his wife is travelling down to join him tomorrow.

Posted by Jim Naughton on November 7, 2012 2:33 PM | |
Comments (2)

Just to be grotesquely redundant, Welby is Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham.

Torey Lightcap

Posted by www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=560747865 [TypeKey Profile Page] | November 7, 2012 4:57 PM

Oops. I thought the first paragraph of the story was a sub head, so I didn't paste it in. Fixed now.

Posted by Jim Naughton [TypeKey Profile Page] | November 7, 2012 5:03 PM

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