CoE faces demands for more resignations after Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby paid the price for shame of failing victims of child abuser

The Church of England is facing demands for more resignations over the shameful failure to help child abuse victims today after the Archbishop of Canterburys dramatic departure.  

Justin Welby fell on his sword yesterday after a damning report laid out how the churchs worst abuser was able to escape justice. 

But the clamour for more individuals to take responsibility is growing, with survivors warning Mr Welby must not be a sacrificial lamb and that other senior clergy implicated in the scandal should also quit. 

Cabinet minister Wes Streeting - himself an Anglican - said this morning that Mr Welby had made absolutely the right decision.

But he warned the Church against thinking that one head rolling solves the problem. 

Stressing he was speaking in a personal capacity rather than as a minister, Mr Streeting told BBC Radio 4s Today programme he felt a deep sense of shame about the failures of the Church of England.

This is happening time and time and time again, he said.

Justin Welby fell on his sword yesterday after a damning report laid out how the churchs worst abuser was able to escape justice

Cabinet minister Wes Streeting - himself an Anglican - said this morning that Mr Welby had made absolutely the right decision

John Smyth (pictured) is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England

So it is right that the Archbishop of Canterbury has taken responsibility for his failures and the failures of the church overall.

What I would say – and Im speaking as an Anglican, not as a Government minister – to other leaders of my church is that dont think that one head rolling solves the problem.

There are deep and fundamental issues of not just practice, but culture on safeguarding that needs to be taken seriously.

Mr Streeting praised Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley, who called for Mr Welby to quit, saying she had the courage to speak up, because the conspiracy of silence has been part of the problem.

The culture of cover-up has been part of the problem on serious abuse allegations for far too long and Im glad that the Archbishop of Canterbury has taken responsibility, he said.

Meanwhile, a bishop and church safeguarding lead said other people may need to resign. 

Julie Conalty, Bishop of Birkenhead and deputy lead bishop for safeguarding said: What I am really clear on is that just the Archbishop of Canterbury resigning is not going to solve the problem. I think he has done the right thing.

This is about institutional changes, our culture and a systemic failure so there must be more that we need to do.

Very possibly some other people should go. Im not here to name names.

However, the second most senior figure in the Church said he does not think any more bishops need resign.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said: Those who actively covered this up (should resign), which was not bishops.

When people speak about the Church of England we need to remember we are speaking about literally thousands of branches, parishes, chaplaincies.

Asked if more bishops should resign, he said: The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned.

Mr Cottrell added: Yes (that is enough) because he has resigned for the institutional failings.

In an unprecedented step, Mr Welby said yesterday he had sought permission from the King to step down in the best interests of the Church.

His resignation was tended after days of pressure from senior clergy and came after Keir Starmer twice failed to give him full backing, saying the victims had been failed very, very badly.

Downing Street has declined to say whether Mr Welby would receive the life peerage customarily given to former Archbishops of Canterbury, with a source adding that it is not automatic.

His resignation comes after a long-awaited review last week concluded that barrister John Smyths 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 Smyths abuse in 2013, which meant the abuser was never brought to justice before his death in 2018.

In a statement from Lambeth Palace, Mr Welby 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.

Mr Welby added: The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England. For nearly 12 years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.

He added: I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve. 

I pray that this decision points us back towards the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us.

Survivors of Smyths abuse welcomed Mr Welbys 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.

Mark Stibbe, an ex-vicar and author, said: We asked for the Archbishop of Canterbury, who we knew knew about the abuses in 2013, and the Bishop of Ely and other senior figures in the CofE to do the right thing, and Justin Welby has done the right thing.

He told Channel 4 News: So I applaud 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. 

Another survivor, who reported Smyths abuse to the Bishop of Lincoln in 2013, also called for him to step aside last night.

At the COP29 summit yesterday, Keir Starmer said that findings in the review by Keith Makin that Smyth abused more than 100 boys and young men are clearly horrific and that his victims have obviously been failed very, very badly

He was the person in a position to stop John Smyth, bring him to justice and he fundamentally failed, the man told the BBC, adding: I dont care about his prayers, I want his resignation.

Bishop Conway apologised following the review, saying: I understand that there were further actions I could have taken following my reporting of the disclosures made to us in the Diocese of Ely about John Smyth.

The law requires that an Archbishop of Canterbury retires by the age of 70, meaning 68-year-old Mr Welby would have had almost two more years until a successor was appointed.

It is more common for Archbishops to die in office than to resign, with Thomas Becket being assassinated and Thomas Cranmer executed. Randall Davidson was the first to retire in 1928.

And while Rowan Williams, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, resigned in 2012 at the age of 62, he did so to take up a position as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge.