Pressure mounts on Archbishop of Canterbury to resign over abuse case

Justin Welby is facing a growing backlash over his failure to tackle known child abuse within the Church of England

The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing mounting pressure to resign over his handling of child abuse allegations against a barrister and former member of the Church of England.

A petition by some members of the General Synod – the church’s parliament – has gathered more than 10,000 signatures urging Justin Welby to stand down over his “failures” to alert authorities about John Smyth QC’s “abhorrent” abuse of children and young men.

A recent review described Smyth, who died in 2018, as the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England.

Sir Keir Starmer said the victims of Smyth were “failed very, very badly”, but would not comment directly on whether the Archbishop of Canterbury should quit.

The prime minister said: “Let me be clear: of what I know of the allegations, they are clearly horrific in relation to this particular case, both in their scale and their content.“My thoughts, as they are in all of these issues, are with the victims here who have obviously been failed very, very badly.“It’s a matter, in the end, for the church, but I’m not going to shy away from the fact of saying that these are horrific allegations and that my thoughts are with the victims in relation to it.”

One of Smyth's victims, Andrew Morse, has joined calls for the Archbishop to resign.

Mr Morse told BBC Radio 4 he was abused by Smyth while he was a pupil at Winchester College, including repeated beating which later led to his attempt suicide.

Mr Morse said: “I think he should resign; I think the church is incredibly stringent with its rules for everyday vicars and those lower down the scale about what to do when abuse is reported to you.

“The Archbishop has himself admitted that he failed in 2013 and I think for that reason, although on a personal level I know how difficult it is not to hold on to secrets and particularly secrets in which you yourself come out maybe with a degree of shame, I believe that now is an opportunity for him to resign."

He added that it would be an "opportunity" for Mr Welby to "stand with the victims of Smyth's abuse" if he were to resign.

The Makin review, published last week, found that Mr Welby was presented with the evidence in 2013, and concluded that Smyth could've been brought to justice a decade earlier had the Archbishop of Canterbury reported it to the police.

The report said Smyth “could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013″.

Smyth ran Christian summer camps in the 1970s and 1980s and is said to have physically and sexually abused 130 boys and young men in the UK and South Africa over five decades until his death in 2018.

The review said Smyth was “never brought to justice for the abuse” after he died aged 75 in Cape Town while under investigation by Hampshire Police.

Mr Welby previously said he had “no idea or suspicion of this abuse” before 2013 but knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne Christian camps in the 1970s.

The review said there was no evidence that he had “maintained any significant contact” with the barrister in later years.

The Archbishop has since apologised after the review was published and acknowledged he had “personally failed to ensure” it was “energetically investigated”.

However, he has maintained he will not resign, with a Lambeth Palace spokesperson saying the Archbishop “hopes the Makin Review supports the ongoing work of building a safer church here and around the world”.

ITV News understands that Mr Welby has cleared his calendar of all engagements on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Nick Timothy MP requested an urgent question on the matter of Archbishop Welby's future in the House of Commons, which was declined.

The Dean of Chapel at King’s College Cambridge has added to calls for the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign.

Dr Stephen Cherry, former canon of Durham Cathedral, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think he really needs to now tender his resignation and allow there to be significant change.

The Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, told the BBC the church is “in danger of losing complete credibility” in safeguarding.

Of Mr Welby, she said: “I think, sadly, his position is untenable, so I think he should resign.”

Another survivor of Smyth’s abuse demanded a “clean sweep” of senior clergy members.

Mark Stibbe told the BBC on Monday that the positions of senior members of the church involved in a cover-up are all untenable.

He said: “I would also apply that to the bishops that knew and did nothing, and the senior clergy of the Church of England that knew and did nothing.

“Their positions are also untenable.”

On Tuesday, the Energy Security Secretary, Ed Miliband said the abuse by Smyth was "horrifying" but didn't join calls for Mr Welby to resign.

He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I’m not going to second-guess decisions that are the Church of England’s decisions and decisions for Justin Welby.

“Obviously, the catalogue of abuse that has been uncovered is deeply, deeply disturbing, but the Church of England makes its own decisions on these matters, and I think it’s right that I, as a politician, don’t intervene in those.”

“My personal opinion is that the catalogue of abuse is horrifying and appalling, but I’m a government minister and I don’t think it’s my job, and I’m not going to second-guess decisions for the Church of England.”

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