Peter Forster

Peter Robert Forster (born 16 March 1950) is a British Anglican bishop and a Lord Spiritual (member of the House of Lords). He is currently the Bishop of Chester in the Church of England.

Born in Solihull, the son of Thomas Forster by his marriage to Edna Russell, Forster was educated at the town's Tudor Grange Grammar School. He stated in the House of Lords on 8 February 2016 that he had spent his gap year making Land Rover Defenders and was auto-enrolled into the TGWU. He studied at Merton College, Oxford, where he graduated with a BA in chemistry, promoted to Master of Arts in 1973. At Edinburgh University, he graduated as a Bachelor of Divinity in theology in 1977 and as a Doctor of Philosophy in 1985.

From 1980 to 1982, Forster was assistant curate of the Mossley Hill Parish Church in Liverpool. He was senior tutor at St John's College, Durham, from 1983 to 1991 and became the vicar of Beverley Minster in 1992. In 1996, he was appointed the 40th Bishop of Chester, he was enthroned on 11 January 1997 and in 2001 took his seat as a Lord Spiritual in the House of Lords.

In 2003, Forster raised controversy when he was investigated by the police for an alleged "hate speech" after suggesting that homosexual people should seek psychiatric treatment. However, no charges were made, and the police were satisfied that no offence had been committed.

He was one of nine bishops who signed a letter disagreeing with the decision of Rowan Williams not to block the appointment of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading in 2013.

In 2009 Forster became a trustee of the newly formed Global Warming Policy Foundation, a controversial organisation based in the United Kingdom which questions policy measures envisaged by governments to mitigate global warming.

In 2012, amid controversy over the amount of expenses claimed by bishops for attending the House of Lords, it was revealed that Forster had claimed more than any other bishop in 2010/11. He had claimed £34,909 and had attended on 97 days.

Forster married Elisabeth Anne Stevenson in 1978, and they have two sons and two daughters. His brother-in-law, Kenneth Stevenson, was also a bishop.

• The Reverend Peter Forster (1980–1985)
• The Reverend Doctor Peter Forster (1985–1996)
• The Right Reverend Doctor Peter Forster (1996–present)