Victim of Smyth abuse condemns Justin Welby's 'tone deaf' final Lords speech

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been accused of making "light" of serious matters within the Church of England in his last speech before the House of Lords, ITV News' Ian Woods reports

A victim of serial abuser John Smyth has said he is "appalled" by Justin Welby's final speech in the House of Lords, as the Archbishop of Canterbury appeared to make light of the circumstances of his resignation.

Welby announced he was stepping down after the Makin review was published, which exposed the church's safeguarding failures in relation to Smyth's abuse.

On Thursday, he said: "If you want to make God laugh, make plans. Well, on that basis, next year I will be causing God more hilarity than anyone else for many years because the plans for next year were very detailed and extensive.

“And if you pity anyone, pity my poor diary secretary who has seen weeks and months of work disappear in a puff of a resignation announcement.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury also said when someone is leading an institution and something goes wrong, a "head" is required to "roll", regardless of their personal responsibility.

“And there is only, in this case, one head that rolls well enough,” he continued and joked he hoped his head would not "literally" roll.

A victim of Smyth, the most prolific abuser associated with the Church of England, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I have never come across anyone so tone deaf.

“He has resigned in shame, burdened by the Makin Review with ‘moral and personal responsibility’ and all he can do is joke about rolling heads.

"There have been two suicide attempts. This is no time to joke. This should have been time for reflection and sorrow. I am just appalled."

The Bishop of Newcastle has also condemned Justin Welby's final speech in the House of Lords as "deeply disturbing".

Dr Helen-Ann Hartley was the only bishop to call publicly for Mr Welby’s resignation in the days following the Makin Review’s publication last month.

Responding to Welby's speech, she said: “To make light of serious matters of safeguarding failures in this way yet again treats victims and survivors of church abuse without proper respect or regard.

"I was disappointed too to see other Lords Spiritual laughing at the jokes that were being made."

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said it was "clear" he had to stand down during his final speech.

Welby stepped down on November 12 after the Makin review found Welby failed to formally report abuse committed by John Smyth, who died in 2018.

Andrew Graystone, who wrote a book on Smyth’s life, also criticised Welby's speech.

“Welby still doesn’t seem to appreciate that there are hundreds of victims of clergy abuse waiting for acknowledgement, apology and redress from the church," he said.

“It is scandalous that they weren’t even mentioned in his speech.”

Mr Graystone continued that the Church of England's problem with safeguarding lies with the mishandling of abuse claims by bishops and church officials.

He added: “It is astonishing to see five of those bishops sitting on the bench behind him chuckling like naughty schoolboys.”

A petition by some members of the General Synod gathered more than 10,000 signatures in the lead-up to his resignation.

The review concluded barrister John Smyth QC had abused more than 100 children and young men in the UK and Africa over five decades. Smyth is thought to have been the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church.

Upon his resignation, Welby acknowledged "personal and institutional responsibility" for "wrongly" believing that there wasn't a need to make this formal report to police in 2013.

In his valedictory speech on Thursday, Welby continued: The safeguarding and care of children and vulnerable adults in the Church of England today is – thanks to thousands and tens of thousands of people across the Church, particularly in parishes, in parish safeguarding officers – is a completely different picture to the past.

“However, when I look back at the last 50 or 60 years, not only through the eyes of the Makin report, however one takes one’s view of personal responsibility, it is clear that I had to stand down, and it is for that reason that I do so.”

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Welby thanked the Lords who had shown him support in the wake of the report, and called his time in the chamber "extraordinary".

“This 12 years, I cannot think of a single moment where I’ve come in here where the hair on the back of my neck has not stood up at the privilege of being allowed to sit on these benches," he said.

A new archbishop is set to be appointed by the King, after an appointment is recommended by the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC).

Once the CNC is established, it examines the candidates, holds interviews, and puts forward a name to the Prime Minister, who then passes it to the King.

Potential candidates include Dame Sarah Mullay, Stephen Cottrell, and Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani.

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret