Bishop calls on Welby to resign over Church abuse scandal

Justin Welby said he should have more rigorously followed up the details of John Smyth's abuse in 2013

A Church of England bishop has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign, calling his position "untenable" after a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church.

Justin Welby is facing mounting pressure to resign after it emerged last week that he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of John Smyth's "abhorrent" abuse of more than 100 boys and young men.

A review of the Church’s handling of Smyth’s case said the archbishop "could and should" have reported the case to authorities when details were presented to him in 2013.

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley is the most senior member of the Church to call on Mr Welby to stand down, after others accused him of "allowing abuse to continue" between 2013 and Smyth's death in 2018.

She told the BBC on Monday: "I think rightly people are asking the question ‘Can we really trust the Church of England to keep us safe?’ And I think the answer at the moment is 'no'."

Bishop Hartley said Mr Welby's resignation would not "solve the safeguarding problem," but it would "be a very clear indication that a line has been drawn, and that we must move towards independence of safeguarding".

Mr Welby acknowledged last week that the review made clear he had "personally failed to ensure it was energetically investigated", and said he had considered resigning, but decided to stay in his role.

The Makin review into Smyth's case said he might have been brought to justice for decades of abuse before his death, in 2018, had he been formally reported to the police in 2013.

Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said the Church risked losing credibility over the matter.

Three members of the Church’s parliament, the General Synod, accused the archbishop of "allowing abuse to continue" during this five-year period. They have started a petition calling for the archbishop to resign, which has now been signed by more than 7,000 people.

Smyth, who worked as a barrister, is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England, having subjected as many as 130 victims in three countries to physical, sexual, and psychological attacks over almost five decades.

He is alleged to have identified boys at Christian camps and in sessions at leading public schools, including Winchester College, before taking them to his Winchester home and beating them with a garden cane in his shed.

He abused 26 to 30 boys and young men in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, the report found. He then relocated to Africa, where he abused a further 85 to 100 "young male children aged 13 to 17".

The report says that from July 2013, the Church of England knew "at the highest level" about Smyth's abuse in the UK and should have "properly and effectively" reported him to the UK police and the relevant authorities in South Africa.

Inaction from the Church represented a "missed opportunity to bring him to justice," the report says.

• Church covered up 'abhorrent' abuse, report finds

• Why does the Church of England struggle to deal with child abuse allegations?

Hampshire Police opened an investigation into Smyth after a Channel 4 documentary brought allegations against him to light in 2017.

Shortly after it aired, Mr Welby told Channel 4: "I genuinely had no idea that there was anything as horrific as this going on and the kind of story you showed on the clip.

"If I’d known that, I would have been very active, but I had no suspicions at all."

But last week's report said "enough was known to have raised concerns upon being informed in 2013".

Smyth died aged 75 while under investigation by Hampshire Police.

Mark Stibbe, a former student at Winchester College, told BBC Newsnight that Smyth gained his trust before taking him to his home and subjecting him to a “terrible assault”.

“He led me... to a shed which had been especially soundproofed and built for his abuses. He basically caned me so many times that I thought I was going to die,” he said.

He added that he did not believe the archbishop’s position was tenable.

Andy Morse, one of Smyth's victims, told the Telegraph: "I don't believe he was telling the truth.

"I’m not sure that he would have had knowledge of the detail, but I think he would have had knowledge of the summary."

The broadcaster Reverend Richard Coles said on X: "Anyone in authority who knew about an abuser and did not act properly so that abuse continued should resign."

Anglican priest Giles Fraser told the BBC Mr Welby had "lost the confidence of his clergy".

Mr Fraser, vicar of St Anne’s Church at Kew, west London, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Welby "really [had] to go".

Recalling his own experience of abuse at school, Mr Fraser said such an experience was "very traumatic and stays with you".

"This happened to me when I was seven, eight – I'm 60 in a few weeks’ time," he said.

"The idea that people continued to be abused after the Church knew what was happening is disgraceful."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declined to comment when asked if Mr Welby should stand down, saying: "That's a matter really for the Church rather than for me."

John Smyth, who was a barrister, is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England

One of Smyth's victims, Bishop of Guildford Andrew Watson, previously described the "excruciating and shocking" abuse he experienced.

A report detailing Smyth's abuse was presented to some Church leaders in 1982, but no report was made to the police.

He was encouraged to leave the country and moved to Zimbabwe and later to South Africa.

Smyth was charged with the manslaughter of a 16-year-old boy at one of his summer camps but not convicted of the offence.

In a statement, Mr Welby said he was "deeply sorry that this abuse happened" and "that concealment by many people who were fully aware of the abuse over many years meant that John Smyth was able to abuse overseas and died before he ever faced justice".

He added: "I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013."

What has most upset some about Church leaders’ response to the Makin review is that they feel it fits a long-running pattern of choosing a path of protecting reputation, and each other, over the welfare of abuse survivors.

In fact, the Bishop of Newcastle felt compelled to speak out after having earlier in the month received a letter from both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York over a stance that she had taken on safeguarding, using what she “experienced as coercive language”.

It relates to her imposing a ban on Archbishop of York John Sentamu preaching in her diocese, which is where he now lives, after Lord Sentamu rejected the findings of another abuse review which criticised his handling of a case where a priest abused a 16-year-old boy.

In the 1 November letter seen by the BBC, which Bishop Helen-Ann says came out of the blue, both archbishops say: “To be candid, we would very much like to see a resolution to this situation which enables Sentamu to return to ministry.”

She talks of being unsettled by the letter and by the apparent focus on Lord Sentamu and not on the abuse victim.

Abuse survivor Matthew Ineson said Mr Welby should "definitely resign"

Reverend Matthew Ineson, a survivor of abuse by another cleric, told the BBC he believed Mr Welby should resign "and he should take with him all those who have failed in safeguarding".

"If he doesn't the Church is showing... again it doesn't understand what it's like to be a victim," he said.

At the weekend, the Church's lead safeguarding bishop said she welcomed Mr Welby’s apology but would not say whether he should resign.

Andrew Graystone, the author of a book about the Smyth case, said on X that he was "nervous" about calls for Mr Welby's resignation.

"What is needed is not a scalp but a wholesale change of culture in the church," he said.

A spokesperson for Mr Welby said the archbishop hoped the Makin review would support the ongoing work of building a safer Church, and reiterated his "horror at the scale of John Smyth's egregious abuse, as reflected in his public apology".

A spokesperson for the Archbishop of York said he was "saddened that this letter is now being described as coercive. This was not his intention, nor did he wish to cause any distress to the Bishop of Newcastle".

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