British public say Welby was right to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury

(Photo: Lambeth Palace)

Most Britons support Justin Welby's decision to resign as Archbishop of Canterbury over the John Smyth abuse scandal. 

Welby stepped down this week under a storm of anger over his failure to report Smyth to the police after becoming aware of the abuse in 2013. 

He had been under pressure to resign in the days following last week's publication of the Makin Review which strongly criticised the Archbishop and accused the Church of England of a "cover-up".

The Makin Review said that Smyth had abused at least 115 children and young men over several decades and that more victims could have been saved from harm if Welby and the wider Church had acted sooner. 

In a poll of over 4,500 British adults by YouGov conducted the day after Welby's resignation, 62% thought it was right that he resign, with only 4% saying he should have remained in post. 

A survey of over 5,800 British adults conducted by YouGov on the same day Welby resigned found that nearly a third of Britons (31%) had an unfavourable view of the Archbishop, up 13 points from the week before. Only 6% had a positive view of Welby and nearly half (42%) said they had never heard of him. 

Announcing his resignation this week, Welby apologised to Smyth's victims and spoke of his "shame" over the Church of England's historic safeguarding failures. 

"It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024," he said. 

He added, "I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. As I step down I do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse." 

Since his resignation, the Diocese of Winchester has asked Rev Sue Colman, an associate minister at St Leonard's Church in Oakley, Hampshire, to step back from ministerial duties.

The Makin Review said it was likely that Rev Colman and her husband Jamie had "significant knowledge" of Smyth's abuse in the UK and Africa because of their positions as trustees of a ministry that funded Smyth's work in Africa.

"The Diocese of Winchester is appalled by the findings of the Makin Review and the sheer extent of the horrific abuse perpetrated by John Smyth," the diocese said in a statement.

"It is a matter of deep regret and sorrow that John Smyth was able to have any association with our diocese while perpetrating such abhorrent abuse.

"The Diocese of Winchester has asked Rev Colman to step back from all ministerial duties while we reflect on the review's findings and work with the national safeguarding team to take steps to manage any associated risk.

"Mr Colman has no official ministerial position in our diocese, but has also been asked to step back from volunteering."

Victims of Smyth have asked for more clergy to go. Mark Stibbe, was abused by Smyth for years as a teenager, told Channel 4 News, "I applaud Justin Welby for resigning but what I think the survivor group would like is more resignations because that means more accountability, people taking responsibility for having been silent when they should have spoken." 

There have been calls for the Bishop of Lincoln, Stephen Conway, to resign. He acknowledged receiving a disclosure about Smyth's abuse while he was Bishop of Ely, and has apologised for not doing enough to ensure the allegations were properly addressed by the Church and the authorities. 

"It was my understanding that this matter was reported to the Police in Cambridgeshire and duly passed on to the Police in Hampshire where the abuse had occurred," he said. 

"I am clear that I did all within my authority as a Bishop of the Church of England, bearing in mind that I had no authority over an entirely independent province on another continent.

"I acknowledge fully that my fault was in not rigorously pursuing Lambeth about that province-to-province communication, and for this I am deeply sorry." 

The bishop has been defended by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, the second most senior leader of the Church of England, who told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Conway "was the first person to do something about this".

Archbishop Cottrell also told the programme that anyone involved in the cover-up should resign but that these individuals are "not bishops".