Four bishops amongst CoE clergy who face rising stress to resign amid baby abuse scandal – after Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby paid the worth for ‘disgrace’ of failing victims of John Smyth

Several Church of England dignitaries were under mounting pressure to step down tonight over their implication in the John Smyth abuse scandal.

After Justin Welby’s resignation, the spotlight has turned on other senior clerical figures who have questions to answer over whether or what they knew about the abuse.

These include four bishops and a member of the secretive committee that will select Mr Welby’s replacement.

They are now under pressure to follow the Archbishop of Canterbury, who resigned in ‘shame’ on Tuesday over failures that meant the Church’s most prolific child abuser was never brought to justice before his death in 2018.

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

On Wednesday, a bishop specialising in Church safeguarding admitted the CofE may not be ‘a safe institution’ and added: ‘Very possibly some other people should go.’

But another prelate claimed that no further bishops needed to resign over the mishandling of allegations against Smyth as Mr Welby had already taken the ‘institutional’ blame.

The review, by Keith Makin, found the Church knew ‘at the highest level’ from 2013 about abuse by Smyth, a barrister, and that its response was ‘wholly ineffective and amounted to a cover-up’.

Many of those aware of Smyth’s abuse in the late 1970s and 1980s have since died. But some criticised in the review for a ‘lack of curiosity’ over the allegations are still alive.

Andrew Graystone, author of the definitive book on Smyth’s abuse, has said ‘at least 11 bishops’ knew about his conduct in addition to ‘literally scores of rank-and-file church leaders’.

Among those identified as allegedly being aware of the abuse in the 1980s is Canon Andrew Cornes, who it stated was told ‘all about’ Smyth’s behaviour.

The review says: ‘There is no evidence to suggest that Andrew Cornes took action to respond to this, he suggests that he thought the matter was being dealt with.’ He is a member of the Crown Nominations Commission which will consult on who will become the next Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Mr Cornes, 75, and the CofE were approached for comment.

Four bishops are also named in the review, including the Bishop of Lincoln, the Rev Stephen Conway, who is facing calls from survivors to resign.

Bishop Conway, who was the Bishop of Ely in 2013 when he was informed of allegations, said: ‘In light of the review, I understand there were further actions I could have taken following my reporting of the disclosures.’

The Rev Dr Jo Bailey Wells, who was chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013, is now the Bishop for Episcopal Ministry for the global Anglican communion.

She failed to follow up with the police on a safeguarding referral, the report found. Dr Bailey Wells has said she was ‘appalled’ by the abuse. 

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the Rev Martin Seeley, and the Archbishop of Cape Town, Dr Thabo Makgoba, are also named in the review.

Meanwhile, Rev Hugh Palmer – a chaplain to the late Queen – and former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey were both also identified as allegedly being aware of the allegations at that time. 

Lord Carey, now 89, has denied being informed about Smyth’s abuse.

Yesterday Bishop of Birkenhead Julie Conalty, deputy lead bishop for safeguarding, said Mr Welby’s resignation alone ‘is not going to solve the problem’ and that ‘very possibly some other people should go’. ‘We still have this institutional problem where we are not putting victims and survivors at the centre. In some ways, we are not a safe institution,’ she told Radio 4’s Today programme.

But the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said no further resignations are needed as Mr Welby has already stepped down, adding: ‘Those who actively covered this up [should resign], which was not bishops.’

Named: The Church of England dignitaries who have questions to answer 

Canon Andrew Cornes: 

Now a member of the Crown Nominations Commission that will shortlist the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the review reported Andrew Cornes, 75, knew ‘all about’ Smyth’s abuse in September 1982 and even talked to some of his victims.

It says: ‘There is no evidence to suggest Cornes took action to respond to this, he suggests he thought the matter was being dealt with.’ 

He was approached for comment.

Reverend Stephen Conway:

As Bishop of Ely in 2013, when one of Smyth’s victims informed his diocese of abuse allegations, the Rev Stephen Conway was ‘in a potentially powerful position…to make sure that the full extent of the concerns was being fully pursued’, but under his leadership ‘opportunities were missed’ to formally report concerns to the police, said the review.

Revered Dr Jo Bailey Wells: 

She was chaplain to Justin Welby in 2013 when he was informed of Smyth’s abuse. She failed to follow up with police on a safeguarding referral, the report found. 

She has said she was ‘appalled’ by the abuse and recognised ‘the immense courage’ of victims.

Revered Sue Colman: 

She and her husband Sir Jamie Colman – heir to the Colman mustard dynasty – sent money to Smyth in Zimbabwe despite ‘on the balance of probabilities’ both having ‘significant knowledge’ of his abuses. 

They visited him there, and he stayed with them in the UK. In 1990, Sir Jamie had been warned Smyth was ‘dangerous’ but argued he was ‘reformed’, the report found.

Revered Hugh Palmer: 

Hugh Palmer, 74, a chaplain to the late Queen and Rector of All Souls Langham Place until retiring in 2020, denied ‘keeping tabs’ on one of Smyth’s victims. 

The young man had tried to take his own life in 1982, and afterwards Rev Palmer made visits to him. 

The victim told the review it could have been ‘John Smyth, keeping tabs on [me].’ Palmer said his visits were out of ‘genuine concern’.