In the Church of England Year Book, he states that he was educated at St Mary's School, Nairobi, Kenya, but was otherwise educated in England at The Priory Grammar School for Boys, Shrewsbury and Henley Sixth Form College.

[5] His autobiographical details refer to ordinations in 1993 and 1994; he does not appear to have served his Title in the normal way, and to an appointment as Principal of the Church Army training college in Nairobi, a post previously held by his father Revd Stanley Dakin.

During this time, he was also an honorary curate of St James the Great, Ruscombe in the Diocese of Oxford, Church of England.

[15] The deaneries of Jersey and Guernsey were transferred to the direct oversight of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Dean of Jersey was reinstated, with Archbishop Justin Welby subsequently issuing an apology to the dean and his wife "for the hurt and the treatment that they had received".

[12] In the face of continued poor relations, the Archbishop of Canterbury formed a special commission in June 2018, under the chairmanship of a former Bishop of London, Richard Chartres,[14] to decide on a way forward.

"[12] The commission issued its conclusions in October 2019, stating of Dakin's original handling of the case that "The suspension of the Dean came as a seismic shock to the civic authorities and churchpeople in Jersey, and triggered a breakdown in trust between the Church and people in both Islands, and Winchester.

The motion stated "We do not have confidence in the diocesan bishop ... to lead by example, due to allegations of poor behaviour and mistreatment on his part of a number of individuals.

[16] David Williams, Dakin's suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke, also "stepped back", having been amongst those representing complaints to Lambeth Palace.

[18] The Church Times reported on 29 June that the facilitated conversations, or commentary upon them, had led to a wider discussion concerning "the culture of the diocese".

[19] On 29 January 2022, at Evensong in Winchester Cathedral, Dakin laid down his pastoral staff[20] in preparation for his formal retirement on 6 February 2022, his 64th birthday.