Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says ‘it’s clear that I needed to stand down’ over Church of England failings in abuse case

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said ‘it is clear that I had to stand down’ over the Church of England failings in the John Smyth abuse case.

Mr Welby delivered his final speech in the House of Lords as Archbishop of Canterbury, ahead of quitting over failures in the handling of allegations against Smyth – the most prolific serial abuser to ever be associated with the Church.

Speaking in his valedictory speech in the House of Lords today, he said ‘a head’ had ‘to roll’, following the Makin Review.

He opened his speech with a tactless joke: ‘My Lords, it is often said and it is a cliche to say it – but hey, I am the Archbishop still – that 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.’

He is the first Archbishop of Canterbury to be forced out of the role after failures meant an abuser was never brought to justice.

It came after a long-awaited review concluded that barrister Smyth’s ‘abhorrent’ serial abuse of more than 100 boys and young men was covered up within the Church.

The Makin review also criticised the Archbishop for showing a ‘distinct lack of curiosity’ after learning of Smyth’s abuse in 2013, which meant the abuser was never brought to justice before his death in 2018.

Mr Welby had initially declined to resign when the report was published, saying he had ‘no idea or suspicion of this abuse’ before 2013, but acknowledging the review had found that after its wider exposure that year he had ‘personally failed to ensure’ it was ‘energetically investigated’.

Across five decades in three different countries and involving as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa, Smyth is said to have subjected his victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.

He died aged 77 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was ‘never brought to justice for the abuse’, the review said.

Mr Welby said today: ‘The reality is that there comes a time if you are technically leading a particular institution or area of responsibility where the shame of what has gone wrong, whether one is personally responsible or not, must require a head to roll.

‘And there is only, in this case, one head that rolls well enough.’

Mr Welby’s words in the House of Lords are the first time he has spoken publicly since announcing his resignation almost a month ago. 

He continued to say that safeguarding in the Church of England is ‘a completely different picture to the past’, but that it was ‘clear’ he had to quit following the Makin Review. 

He told the House of Lords: ‘The reality is that 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.’

He offered his thanks to people in the House of Lords, saying: ‘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.

‘It has been an extraordinary period and I’ve listened to so many debates of great wisdom, so many amendments of Bills that have improved them, so much hard work.

‘And I’ve also found that despite the fact I still can’t find my way around this building that the staff here are endlessly patient, as I look panic-struck when I suddenly find I’m standing on a green carpet and not a red one and have guided me to the right place.’

Mr Welby added: ‘I’m hugely grateful to noble lords who have been kind enough to send supportive and encouraging notes over the last few weeks. It has been a great privilege and strength to have that.’

In an unprecedented step, Mr Welby said on November 11 he had sought permission from the King to step down ‘in the best interests of the Church’.

His resignation was tended ‘in sorrow’ after days of pressure from senior clergy and came after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer twice failed to back him, saying the victims had been failed ‘very, very badly’.

In a pointed statement, the Prime Minister previously said Smyth’s abuse was ‘clearly horrific’ and his victims ‘have obviously been failed very, very badly’. 

In a statement from Lambeth Palace, Mr Welby previously admitted it was clear he must ‘take personal and institutional responsibility’.

‘Having sought the gracious permission of His Majesty the King, I have decided to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury,’ he said. ‘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.’

It is likely to be some time before a successor is announced. The statement added that Archbishop Welby will continue to carry out ‘constitutional and Church responsibilities’ until exact dates for a hand-over are confirmed.

Survivors of Smyth’s abuse welcomed Mr Welby’s resignation and said he has ‘done the right thing’. But they said they want to see other resignations as the ‘list of clergy in the ‘circles of awareness’ is staggering’. 

There were calls for the resignation of Rt Rev Stephen Conway, the Bishop of Lincoln, who was implicated in the scandal when he was the Bishop of Ely.

The House of Survivors, set up by two victims of abuse, said the Archbishop must not be the only ‘scapegoat’. A spokesman said Mr Welby’s resignation needed to be a ‘sea change moment’ for the CofE in its approach to safeguarding and called for mandatory reporting of concerns.

Yesterday, it was reported that the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury will not take part in any public Christmas services this year, despite still being in the post until January.

Lambeth Palace confirmed Justin Welby will spend the festive period privately with family, following his announcement in November that he was quitting over failures in the Church’s handling of an abuse scandal.

Mr Welby intends to complete official duties as archbishop by January 6.

While Lambeth Palace had said he was likely to have ‘very little public-facing activity’ between now and that date, it has been confirmed he will not participate in any public Advent and Christmas services.

It had been tradition for the Archbishop of Canterbury to deliver a sermon on Christmas Day from Canterbury Cathedral.

It is likely Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell’s sermon will instead be the focus on December 25.

The BBC had already confirmed Mr Welby will not deliver the traditional televised new year message on New Year’s Day.

Mr Cottrell, the second-most senior bishop in the Church of England, is expected to take on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s official functions temporarily from January 6.