Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns following damning report into Church abuse scandal

12 November 2024, 14:06 | Updated: 12 November 2024, 16:56

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has resigned following criticism of his failure to prevent child abuse.

Mr Welby has resigned after the independent Makin Review concluded that barrister John Smyth, who is thought to have been the most prolific abuser associated with the church, might have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally alerted authorities in 2013.

In a statement today Mr Welby said: "Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty The King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury.

"The Makin Review has exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth. When I was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow.

"It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024.

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He continued: "It is my duty to honour my Constitutional and church responsibilities, so exact timings will be decided once a review of necessary obligations has been completed, including those in England and in the Anglican Communion.

"I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.

"As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse. The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements.

"It is for others to judge what has been done. In the meantime, I will follow through on my commitment to meet victims. I will delegate all my other current responsibilities for safeguarding until the necessary risk assessment process is complete.

"I ask everyone to keep my wife Caroline and my children in their prayers. They have been my most important support throughout my ministry, and I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice. Caroline led the spouses’ programme during the Lambeth Conference and has travelled tirelessly in areas of conflict supporting the most vulnerable, the women, and those who care for them locally.

BREAKING: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigns

"I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.

"For above all else, my deepest commitment is to the person of Jesus Christ, my saviour and my God; the bearer of the sins and burdens of the world, and the hope of every person."

Survivors of John Smyth's abuse were said to be "hugely emotional" on hearing of the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation.

Andrew Graystone, who wrote a book on Smyth's life, abuses and the Church of England's handling of matters, said he had spoken to some victims after Justin Welby made his announcement on Tuesday.

Asked what they had said, he said: "That he (Mr Welby) had to go because of his failures, but it doesn't begin to make things right."

He said it was a "hugely emotional day for them".

Sir Keir Starmer earlier refused to comment directly on Mr Welby's position, saying it was a "matter, in the end, for the church", but he made clear that Smyth's victims had been let down.

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."

Smyth, who was a lay reader and led Christian summer camps, died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was "never brought to justice for the abuse", the review published last week said.

Mr Welby has acknowledged the review found that, after Smyth's abuse was subject to wider exposure in 2013, he had "personally failed to ensure" it was "energetically investigated".

Andrew Morse, a victim of Smyth's whom he first met while a pupil at Winchester College, Hampshire, described him as a predator and accused Mr Welby "along with countless other Anglican church members" as being "part of a cover-up about the abuse".

He added: "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 onto 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.

"I say opportunity in the sense that this would be an opportunity for him to stand with the victims of the Smyth abuse and all victims that have not been treated properly by the Church of England in their own abuse cases."

Mr Welby knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne Christian camps in the 1970s, but the review said there was no evidence that he had "maintained any significant contact" with the barrister in later years.

The archbishop said he had "no idea or suspicion of this abuse" before 2013.

Over five decades between the 1970s until his death, Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.

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''.

When the Makin report was published, Mr Welby admitted he had considered resigning but decided not to after taking advice from "senior colleagues".