Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby resigns

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has stepped down following the revelations of a cover-up of sexual abuse by the Church of England.

Following calls for his resignation, Justin Welby said the report “exposed the long-maintained conspiracy of silence about the heinous abuses of John Smyth”.

According to Welby, he believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow” when he was told in 2013 that Smyth had been reported to the police.

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

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

An independent Makin review uncovered the Church’s mishandling of the case involving John Smyth QC, who subjected victims to various forms of abuse.

The review suggested that Smyth could have faced justice sooner if Welby had reported the abuse to police ten years ago.

Smyth passed away in 2018 without facing accountability for his actions.