Welby's 'sorrow' as he quits over church abuse scandal

Archbishop bows to pressure over handling of C of E investigation

- Emine Sinmaz Harriet Sherwood Sally Weale

The archbishop of Canterbury is to step down amid intense pressure over his handling of one of the Church of England's worst abuse scandals. Justin Welby's decision was announced yesterday after mounting demands from victims and members of the clergy to quit. Pressure had intensified after the publication last week of a damning report on the C of E's cover-up of abuse by John Smyth in the UK in the late 1970s and early 80s, and later in Zimbabwe and South Africa. About 130 boys are believed to have been abused by Smyth, a powerful barrister who died in 2018. The independent Makin review into the abuse concluded that Smyth could have been brought to justice had the archbishop formally reported it to police a decade ago.

Welby said his decision, which came five days after the report was published, was "in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve". The announcement came hours after Keir Starmer, the prime minister, refused to publicly back him. A petition started by three members of the General Synod - the church's parliament - had amassed more than 13,000 signatures calling for the archbishop to quit. In a statement posted by Lambeth Palace, Welby, who is the spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, 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.