Archbishop of Canterbury resigns over Church abuse scandal

The Archbishop of Canterbury has announced helium volition measurement down from his relation pursuing a damning study into a prolific kid abuser associated with the Church of England.

The study recovered that Justin Welby, 68, had failed to enactment connected reports of John Smyth's "abhorrent" maltreatment of boys and young men.

In a connection Mr Welby said: "Having sought the gracious support of His Majesty The King, I person decided to resign arsenic Archbishop of Canterbury."

He added that "it is precise wide that I indispensable instrumentality idiosyncratic and organization responsibility" for his relation successful the effect to the abuse.

"I anticipation this determination makes wide however earnestly the Church of England understands the request for alteration and our profound committedness to creating a safer church.

"As I measurement down I bash truthful successful sorrow with each victims and survivors of abuse."

He said implicit successful the days since the study into Smyth's maltreatment was published, helium had felt a "profound consciousness of shame astatine the historical safeguarding failures of the Church of England".

The archbishop had faced mounting unit to resign aft it emerged that helium had failed to enactment connected reports of Smyth's maltreatment of much than 100 boys and young men.

The study by Keith Makin described Smyth's "clearly sexually motivated, sadistic regime" of beatings during the 1970s and 1980s.

Smyth was a salient barrister arsenic good arsenic a laic preacher - a subordinate of the congregation who delivers sermons but is not ordained - who ran summertime camps for young Christians.

He was accused of attacking up to 30 boys astatine his Winchester location whom helium had met astatine the summertime camps during the 1970s and 1980s.

He singled retired boys attending the camps and successful sessions astatine starring nationalist schools, including Winchester College, earlier taking them to his location and beating them with a plot cane successful his shed.

Some of the victims had to deterioration big nappies due to the fact that of the bleeding they had suffered.

Smyth past relocated to Zimbabwe and South Africa, wherever helium is alleged to person abused a further 85 to 100 "young antheral children aged 13 to 17".