David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes
David Michael Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes, KCVO, PC (born 14 April 1940) was the Archbishop of York in the Church of England from 1995 to 2005. Before then he was Bishop of Wakefield from 1985 and then Bishop of London from 1991.
On 30 June 2004, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and on behalf of all 114 Anglican bishops, he wrote to Tony Blair expressing deep concern about Government policy and criticising the coalition troops' conduct in Iraq. The letter cited the abuse of Iraqi detainees, which was described as having been "deeply damaging", and stated that the government's apparent double standards "diminish the credibility of western governments". (BBC) (The Scotsman)
After Peter Tatchell alleged that Hope was gay in 1995 as part of the much criticized outrage! "outing" campaign, Hope said that his sexuality is "a grey area", and that he had "sought to lead a celibate life" and is "perfectly happy and content".
On 1 August 2004 it was announced that Dr Hope would step down as Archbishop to become Vicar of St Margaret's Church in Ilkley. He did so on 28 February 2005. David Hope was regarded very highly in church circles, and not only in the Anglican Communion. Not long before he retired as Archbishop, The Queen pointedly attended a Service at York Minster - seen by many as a mark of the regard in which she held Dr Hope. In recognition of his contribution to the Church, Downing Street announced on 25 January that he had accepted a life peerage; the title was gazetted as Baron Hope of Thornes, of Thornes in the County of West Yorkshire, on 31 March.
On 10 September 2006 Dr Hope announced his resignation as Vicar of St Margaret's, Ilkley, due to ill health. He stated that he will continue to work a three day week at St Margaret's until the end of 2006, but after that will serve as an honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Bradford.