Archbishop of Canterbury resigns - live: Welby’s Lords seat in doubt amid calls for Labour to refuse peerage
Mr Welby said it was ‘very clear’ he must take responsibility and regretted the Church’s historic failures
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Your support makes all the difference.Justin Welby’s automatic peerage may be in doubt in the wake of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to step down from his role.
The Archbishop of Canterbury resigned after a damning report found he failed to alert police about sexual abuse allegations made against a barrister associated with the Church of England.
He had been facing growing pressure to stand down over his “failures” to alert authorities about John Smyth QC’s “abhorrent” abuse of children and young men.
The Archbishop currently sits in the House of Lords as one of 26 Lords Spiritual of the Church of England.
Retiring Archbishops of Canterbury have, by convention, been given lifetime peerages allowing them to continue to sit in the Lords.
But on Tuesday afternoon, a Downing Street spokeswoman declined to confirm that Welby would receive a peerage.
Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men to traumatic physical, sexual and psychological abuse over five decades in the UK and Africa.
Who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury after Justin Welby resigned?
I was the first person to out serial abuser John Smyth – but I wish Justin Welby hadn’t resigned
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby quits: Read his resignation letter in full
Justin Welby’s meteoric rise – and the abuse scandal that will become his legacy
How will the next Archbishop of Canterbury be appointed?
The eight-month process to replace Justin Welby is explained by Holly Evans.
Eight-month process to replace Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury explained
The King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer both have roles to play in the process of appointing the new archbishop.
Welby may be first Archbishop of Canterbury not to receive an automatic peerage in century
The Archbishop of Canterbury said he would honour his existing “constitutional and church responsibilities”, so exact timings for his departure will be decided “once a review of necessary obligations has been completed”.
Archbishops have received a life peerage to sit in the House of Lords since the 1920s but their are calls for Labour to withdraw the privlege in the wake of the Smyth scandal and coverup.
But on Tuesday afternoon, a Downing Street spokeswoman declined to confirm that Welby would receive a peerage.
The Archbishop of Canterbury sits as one of the 26 bishops of the Church of England, who are known as the Lords Spiritual. The bishops are all independent members, and each speaks and votes on matters of particular interest or concern to them.
Welby has led debates in the House of Lords on shared national values, education, and the UK’s role in conflict prevention.
He also often speaks on issues related to religious freedom, peacebuilding and refugees, as well as in response to events of national importance, such as the EU referendum, war or terrorism.
Archbishop of York says no more resignations needed after Welby steps down
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the possibility of more resignations, 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.”
Questioned whether more bishops should resign, he said: “The Archbishop of Canterbury has resigned.”
Asked if that is enough, he added: “Yes, because he has resigned for the institutional failings.”
Bishop of Newcastle says safeguarding is ‘undermined by arrogance of a few’
The only Bishop who had publicly called for the Archbishop of Canterbury to resign has said while it is right that he goes, it “does not solve the church’s profound failure” on safeguarding.
Bishop of Newcastle the Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley spoke out on Monday to demand Justin Welby step down.
In a statement on Wednesday, she said: “It is right that Archbishop Justin has resigned.
“This resignation does not solve the Church’s profound failure over safeguarding and the ongoing trauma caused to victims and survivors of church-related abuse nor does it excuse others whose neglect of their duties is exposed by the Makin report.”
She noted that while some progress has been made in changing the safeguarding culture in the church, “sadly the progress made by many is being undermined by the arrogance of a few”.
Remove bishops from House of Lords so they can focus on Church crisis, MP says
Bishops should be removed from the House of Lords so they can focus on fixing the crisis in the Church of England, an SNP MP told the House of Commons.
Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, claimed members of the clergy should focus on dealing with the abuse scandal which led to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury rather than attempting to “run our country”.
Throwing his weight behind an unsuccessful attempt in the Commons on Tuesday to remove the 26 bishops from the House of Lords, Mr Wishart claimed they had a “whole range” of other issues to deal with.
The amendment was tabled by Sir Gavin Williamson - who argued it was “fundamentally unfair” to have bishops in the Lords - and backed by around 40 MPs.
Church moving in right direction towards safeguarding, says bishop
The Church of England is making progress towards independent safeguarding, the Archbishop of York has said.
“I believe we are moving,” Stephen Cottrell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We are doing what has to be done through our synodical processes. Many of our changes need to go through Parliament itself.”
Professor Alexis Jay made recommendations in the Future of Church Safeguarding report, published in February, that two new bodies independent of the Church be established, with one responsible for delivering all safeguarding activities and another responsible for providing scrutiny and oversight of said activities.
Mr Cottrell told Today: “I am frustrated, like Professor Jay, that that takes time, but those things are happening.”
Asked how long it is going to take to have independent safeguarding, he said: “I believe that, on the current plan, the response group to the Jay recommendations will come to the General Synod in 2025. That will bring about the changes.”
I would have forgiven Welby instantly if he handled it differently, says survivor
A survivor of John Smyth’s abuse said that if Justin Welby had handled the allegations of abuse differently he would have “forgiven him there and then”.
The man, who is known as Graham, told Channel 4 News: “The stupidity of this is, if Justin have handled this differently back in 2017, if he put out a statement saying, ‘I’m sorry, I got to Lambeth (Palace), my eye was off the ball. Do you want to meet me tomorrow, victims? Are you all right? Have you got counselling? I am sorry’, then we would have ticked him off the list and forgiven him there and then.”
Why has the Archbishop of Canterbury had to resign?
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned over allegations – some of which he has accepted – that he failed to act against a prolific and sadistic paedophile, John Smyth, who had been associated with the Church of England for decades. A number of Welby’s more senior colleagues had openly called for him to stand down, while others remained silent, and the general unease had become deafening.
A petition to remove him from his post – though strictly, he probably had absolute security of tenure – attracted more than 10,000 signatures. For an Anglican primate to quit in such circumstances is unprecedented – but also, it seems, inevitable...
What’s it all about?
Read the full explainer from Sean O’Grady here:
Why has the Archbishop of Canterbury had to resign?
For an Anglican primate to stand down in these circumstances is unprecedented, writes Sean O’Grady, as he examines what led to the widespread calls for Justin Welby to go
Wes Streeting says it was ‘absolutely the right decision’ for Welby to resign
The health secretary has suggested there are “deep and fundamental issues” to be addressed in the Church of England over the handling of abuse allegations.
Wes Streeting said it was “absolutely the right decision” for Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to resign, but church leaders should not think “one head rolling solves the problem”.
But Mr Streeting, who stressed he was speaking in a personal capacity rather than in his role as a cabinet minister, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he feels a “deep sense of shame about the failures of the Church of England” in its handling of abuse cases.
“This is happening time and time and time again,” he said.
“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 I’m speaking as an Anglican, not as a Government minister – to other leaders of my church is that don’t 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 I’m glad that the Archbishop of Canterbury has taken responsibility,” he said.
Stephen Cottrell says he does not think any more bishops should resign
The second most senior figure in the Church of England has said he does not think any more bishops should resign in the wake of the report into John Smyth’s abuse.
Asked on BBC Radio 4 Today on the possibility of more resignations, 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.”
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