Justin Welby is not guaranteed to receive a peerage after he leaves the office of Archbishop of Canterbury, i has learnt.
Welby resigned on Tuesday following widespread outrage over his failure to pursue a serial child abuser when allegations were brought to his attention.
The Archbishop currently sits in the House of Lords with other bishops as one of 26 “Lords Spiritual” of the Church of England.
Since the 1920s, retiring Archbishops of Canterbury have by convention been given peerages allowing them to continue to sit in the Lords after their tenure as a lord spiritual has ended.
However, i understands that Welby will not be automatically given a peerage after his decision to resign in relation to an alleged cover-up within the Church of England of the child abuse perpetrated by John Smyth.
Calls for the Archbishop to step down had been mounting since last week when an investigation in to Smyth, a barrister believed to have been the most prolific abuser associated with the Anglican Church, found Welby had failed to rigorously follow up on reports of abuse.
In a statement from Lambeth Palace, Welby said that he was “stepping aside in the best interests of the Church of England”.
“It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024,” he said.
“The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby added.
“For nearly twelve years I have struggled to introduce improvements. It is for others to judge what has been done.”
Smyth, who ran summer camps for young Christians in the 80s and 90s, subjected as many as 130 boys and young men to “brutal and horrific” sexual, physical, psychological and spiritual attacks over five decades.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Downing Street spokeswoman declined to confirm that Welby would receive a peerage.
The spokeswoman said that No 10 “never comment on peerages”. “In terms of any government peerages and that process, they’re always set out in the usual way,” she said.
Asked for Sir Keir Starmer’s response to Welby’s resignation, the spokeswoman referenced earlier comments made by the Prime Minister.
Speaking to the press at the COP climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Starmer said the allegations relating to Smyth were “horrific” and that his victims had been “failed very, very badly”.
Who will replace Justin Welby – and what happens to the Church of England now?
A Church of England body named the Crown Nominations Commission, established in the 70s, is responsible for choosing Welby’s successor.
It is made up of 17 members, including representatives from the Canterbury diocese, the Archbishop of York and five representatives of the global Anglican Communion.
It is led by a non-ordained chair, appointed by the prime minister. Richard Luce, a cross-bench life peer, was given the role by David Cameron in 2012.
The committee brings forward names for a vote, with the successful candidate needing the support of two thirds of members. It may also agree a second choice, in case the favourite is unable to take up the post.
The CNC then submits its preference to Downing Street, which passes it on to the monarch, who officially nominates the new archbishop.
To be eligible for the role, a candidate must be an Anglican bishop, but not exclusively from the Church of England. They could also be drawn from the Episcopal Church, the Church of Ireland or the Church in Wales.
Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich, and Guli Francis-Dehqani, the Bishop of Chelmsford, have both been tipped to succeed Welby.
Usher is in favour of gay rights and has been outspoken on the need to tackle climate change.
Francis-Dehqani was born in Iran and has spoken about how her brother was murdered in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. She would be the first woman to occupy the post.
The No 10 spokeswoman added: “The Prime Minister respects the decision that’s been taken, but would otherwise point you to Lambeth Palace’s own [resignation] statement.”
The Prime Minister is not believed to have spoken to Welby before he announced his resignation.
The Makin Review into the Church’s handling of Smyth’s case, published on 7 November, concluded that Welby “could and should” have reported allegations to authorities when he was presented with them in 2013.
It found that he had at least “some knowledge of the concerns” about Smyth in the early 80s and showed a “distinct lack of curiosity” about allegations when they surfaced in 2013.
Welby apologised for not ensuring the reports were “energetically investigated” in 2013 but maintained that he had no prior knowledge of the abuse.
In his resignation statement, Welby said he was told that police had been notified of Lynch’s abuse when he learned of it 11 years ago.
“I believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow,” he added.
Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, said Welby’s resignation was “the right and honourable thing to do”.
In a statement, he said: “As Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin has decided to take his share of responsibility for the failures identified by the Makin Review. I believe this is the right and honourable thing to do.
“Whilst this is a difficult day for Justin, I pray there will be an opportunity to reflect on and appreciate the many positive aspects of his ministry and his huge commitment to the Church of England, the Anglican Communion and above all the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, said the resignation provided the “urgent impetus we need to change the face of safeguarding in the Church of England”.
“The crimes that John Smyth perpetrated were absolutely appalling,” she said. “So too was the church’s failure to act in response. At the heart of these events are people who were abused, and who are still being abused.
“The Church of England now needs a reset in how safeguarding is scrutinised. Archbishop Justin’s decision reflects a recognition of the standards to which we are all held. It also creates the necessary space to enable change. We need a genuinely survivor-focused approach, with independent scrutiny and mandatory reporting at its heart. From this moment, the Church must drive fundamental safeguarding reform.”
How King learned of Welby’s resignation
King Charles did not meet the Archbishop on Tuesday but exchanged private words via an intermediary while accepting his resignation as part of a formal process.
This happened before the Prime Minister spoke publicly about the scandal. The monarch is expected to say something publicly about the Archbishop when he formally departs or hands over the role.
The King and his family is likely to be saddened by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation over his handling of a child abuse scandal.
As Supreme Governor of the established church, Charles III inevitably has close official ties with the spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans. But Justin Welby has also developed a warm personal relationship with several members of the Royal Family.
He has officiated at or taken part in royal weddings, funerals, and christenings and crowned the King at his coronation at Westminster Abbey in 2023. He was there for the Queen and Prince Philip’s funerals, George, Charlotte, and Louis’s christenings, and numerous other national events involving the Royals.
Although a recently revealed letter from 1998 suggested the then Prince Charles was increasingly drawn to the Greek Orthodox church and believed other faiths – by implication the C of E – had been “corrupted by loathsome political correctness”, the monarch takes his responsibilities to the Church of England seriously.
Friends say that the Archbishop, who was a huge admirer of Queen Elizabeth II, has been drawn to her eldest son and heir by the King’s spirituality, and the two men have enjoyed deep conversations about faith.
Welby has also been close particularly to Prince Harry and Meghan, according to well-placed sources. He married them at Windsor Castle in 2018 and christened their son Archie in the castle’s private chapel a year later.
Their friendship survived Meghan embarrassing the Archbishop by claiming in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had secretly married her and Harry three days before the public wedding. Welby was forced to issue a denial, saying he would have broken the law if so.
On Monday, Helen-Ann Hartley, the Bishop of Newcastle, called Welby’s position “untenable” and said the church risked “losing complete credibility” if he remained in post.
Vicar Robert Thompson launched a petition alongside two other members of the General Synod – the church’s parliament – calling for Welby to quit, which had reached more than 10,000 signatures.
He said the issue of safeguarding had become an “enormous crisis” for the church and a “complete culture change” was needed.
Further resignations are also required “to meet the concerns of increasing numbers of clergy and laity too”, he added.
Thompson said: “The fact that only the Bishop of Newcastle was able to speak with any modicum of moral authority in the past few days indicates the level of crisis of trust in the present episcopacy and its sycophantic, group think culture.”
Welby resignation should not distract from deeper failings, victims’ lawyer says
Justin Welby’s resignation should not deflect attention from the Church of England’s institutional failure to stop John Smyth, a lawyer representing victims said.
Alan Collins, of law firm Hugh James, is representing four people who were abused by Smyth at holiday camps in the UK and Africa in the 80s and 90s.
The victims – who say the church failed in its duty of care toward them – plan to initiate court proceedings within weeks if it fails to engage with their concerns.
The group is calling for the church to apologise and compensate them for the physical and psychiatric harm they suffered.
They are also calling for the church to use its political influence in the House of Lords – which contains 26 bishops – to push for a law making it mandatory for anyone with knowledge of child abuse to report it to police.
Mr Collins told i: “Welby isn’t really the story. He’s a big name, but his departure shouldn’t detract from what happened or what needs to be done.
“Welby learnt about all this in 2013, but the church knew about in the 80s. That’s the big concern.
“You can’t be confident that something like this will never happen again – we know there are abusers out there.”
“There should be mandatory reporting across the board,” he added. “It doesn’t matter who you are, if you’re aware of child abuse, you report it to the police.
“If this law had existed, Welby would probably still be in post today.”
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), set up after investigations into Jimmy Savile, recommended the introduction of a statutory requirement of mandatory reporting in its final report in 2022.
Over five decades between the 70s until his death, Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives.
A lay reader who led Christian summer camps, he died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was “never brought to justice for the abuse”, the review said.
Welby knew Smyth because of his attendance at Iwerne Christian camps in the 70s, but the review said there was no evidence that he had “maintained any significant contact” with the barrister in later years.
But the Makin report said Smyth “could and should” have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Welby in 2013.
Following the report’s publication, Welby had initially said that he had been giving resignation “a lot of thought for actually quite a long time” but had decided to remain in his role.
Why Justin Welby had to resign
- Welby met Smyth in the 70s while volunteering at the Iwerne Trust camps in Dorset. He said that at that time he had no idea about the abuse Smyth was perpetrating. Allegations were first reported to the Iwerne Trust in the early 80s.
- After he took up the role of Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013, Welby and others were informed of the allegations against Smyth.
- The long-awaited report by Keith Makin into the church’s response to Smyth’s abuse, published last week, found that Welby failed to formally alert the authorities at the time, and stated that Smyth’s “prolific, brutal and horrific” actions were covered up by “powerful evangelical clergy”.
- In response, Welby said: “I am deeply sorry that this abuse happened. […] I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse before 2013. Nevertheless the review is clear that I personally failed to ensure that after disclosure in 2013 the awful tragedy was energetically investigated.”
- In an interview with Channel 4 News, where he was asked if he would resign, he said: “I’ve been giving that a lot of thought for actually quite a long time. There’s nothing over the last 10 years that has been as horrible as dealing with not just this one, but innumerable other abuse cases… I’ve taken advice as recently as this morning from senior colleagues and no, I’m not going to resign for this. If I’d known before 2013 or had grounds for suspicions, that would be a resigning matter then and now. But I didn’t.”
- Welby announced his resignation today amid mounting pressure from senior Church of England figures. He said: “When I was informed in 2013 [about Smyth’s abuse] 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.”
This story is being updated.
