Archbishop of Canterbury apologises after Church of England cover up of abuse by barrister John Smyth

A British barrister “horrifically” abused more than 130 children in the UK and Africa after the church covered up for him for decades so he was “never bought to justice”, a damning report has found.

John Smyth QC, described as the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England, died aged 75, under police investigation after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest at his house in Cape Town.

Despite his “appalling” actions having been identified in the 1980s, the report concluded he was never fully exposed and was therefore able to continue his abuse.

The Archbishop of Canterbury “could and should” have formally reported the abuse to authorities in 2013, the review said It added that some of the victims felt a “sense of personal betrayal by Justin Welby” after promises were made on a Zoom call to investigate all the Clergy identified as possibly not acting on information they had.

In a statement the Archbishop of Canterbury admitted that the probe into the church’s role in the coverup found it was “clear that I personally failed to ensure that after disclosure in 2013 the awful tragedy was energetically investigated”.

He apologised to victims who he didn’t meet until 2020.

Justin Welby said: “I am deeply sorry that this abuse happened. I am so sorry that in places where these young men, and boys, should have felt safe, and where they should have experienced God’s love for them, they were subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse.

“I am sorry that concealment by many people who were fully aware of the abuse over many years meant that John Smyth was able to abuse overseas and died before he ever faced justice. The report rightly condemns that behaviour.

“I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013.”

While some 30 boys and young men are known to have been directly physically and psychologically abused in the UK - and around 85 boys and young men physically abused in African countries, including Zimbabwe - the total “likely runs much higher”, the report said.

The earliest evidence of John Smyth making an abusive approach was in 1971, involving a 14-year-old boy.

Victims admitted they were scared to come forward against the evangelical lawyer, who was outspoken in his condemnation of gay people throughout his career and was the go-to barrister for morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse.

The review, commissioned a year after Smyth’s death by the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, found that an argument had been made that the abuses were “examples of over-enthusiastic corporal punishment”.

But the report said: “The conclusion of the review is that he committed criminal acts of gross abuse.

“Further abuse could and should have been prevented. John Smyth’s victims were not sufficiently supported by the church and their views on escalating his abuse to the police and other authorities were not sought.”

“The abuses in the UK were fully revealed to a small number of men in early 1982 (by the production of the 1982 Ruston Report) and actions should have been taken, at that moment, to report the abuses to the police and other statutory authorities. A decision was actively made by this small group to cover the abuses up.

“John Smyth could and should have been reported for his abuses then and this would have led to a different set of outcomes, even if he was not prosecuted at that time.”

Smyth was able to move to Zimbabwe and South Africa and set up his own teenage camp for young boys, Zambesi Ministries, while “church officers knew of the abuse and failed to take the steps necessary to prevent further abuse occurring”.