Pressure on Archbishop of Canterbury to resign over child abuse scandal | BBC News

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is facing mounting pressure to resign after a damning report into a child abuser associated with the Church of England.

The spiritual head of the world Anglican communion is accused of failing to act on reports of horrific child abuse by John Smyth QC, who preyed on more than 100 boys and young men.

A review of the Church’s handling of the Smyth case said Justin Welby "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 Justin Welby to stand down, after others accused him of "allowing abuse to continue" between 2013 and Smyth’s death in 2018.

Mr Welby has acknowledged that the review made clear he had "personally failed" to "energetically investigate". He said he had considered resigning, but decided to stay in his role.

Smyth is the most prolific known serial abuser associated with the Church of England, having subjected as many as 130 victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks.

His abuse took place over almost five decades and across three countries, according to the report. He targeted boys who attended summer camps he ran for young Christians. Smyth 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 authorities in South Africa.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by religion editor Aleem Maqbool.

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