The scandal that brought down the Archbishop of Canterbury

After facing mounting pressure, Most Rev Justin Welby has become the first Archbishop of Canterbury ever to resign. Tim Wyatt has the full story 

The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Rev Justin Welby, has resigned. In a statement, the archbishop said he took “personal and institutional responsibility” for the Church of England’s safeguarding failures. 

The news came after the Makin report, a damning investigation into an abuse scandal surrounding John Smyth. A resulting petition calling for Welby’s resignation garnered more than 13,000 signatures in just three days. Several leading clerics also called for him to step down, including Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle, who said the archbishop’s position had become “untenable”.