Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby facing axe as Keir Starmer issues 11-word statement

The Archbishop of Canterbury is under mounting pressure to quit over his handling of the abuse scandal, with a bishop saying "his position is untenable" – and now Prime Minister Keir Starmer has spoken out on the matter

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is feeling the heat to resign amidst controversy surrounding his handling of a harrowing abuse scandal – and now the Prime Minister has weighed in.

With over 5,000 signatures from members of the General Synod, the church's parliament, there's a strong push from a petition for him to step down due to his "failures" in managing the case involving John Smyth QC's devastating abuse of children and young men.

And when pressed by a group of journalists while travelling to this week's COP climate summit in Azerbaijan, Mr Starmer said: "That’s a matter really for the church rather than for me."

Backing calls for Welby's resignation, Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley has warned that the Church of England could forfeit its "moral voice" amidst this crisis. She stressed on BBC that for the national church to maintain its moral stance, it needs to put its house in order, especially when it fails to protect the vulnerable as any institution should.

"I think that it’s very hard for the church as the national, the established church, to continue to have a moral voice in any way, shape or form in our nation when we cannot get our own house in order with regard to something as critically important, something that would be asked of any institution, let alone the church, which is meant to have the gospel of Jesus Christ looking out for the most vulnerable in our midst."

With Smyth potentially escaping justice because of Welby's delayed formal report to the police, as concluded by an independent review last week, credibility is at stake. Speaking of Welby, Ms Hartley commented: "We are in danger of losing complete credibility on that front."

Concerning the Archbishop himself, she holds the view that "I think, sadly, his position is untenable, so I think he should resign."

She remarked that while his stepping down "is not going to solve the problem", it would signal "a very clear indication that a line has been drawn, and that we must move towards independence of safeguarding". When the report came out, Mr Welby acknowledged he had pondered quitting but chose to stay on after consulting with "senior colleagues".

Following the petition's launch, Mr Welby’s spokesperson stated he "reiterates his horror at the scale of John Smyth’s egregious abuse, as reflected in his public apology", confirmed his decision not to resign, and expressed his "hopes the Makin Review supports the ongoing work of building a safer church here and around the world". Smyth passed away at 75 in Cape Town in 2018 amid an investigation by Hampshire Police, and was "never bought to justice for the abuse", according to the recently released Makin Review.

Over five decades, Smyth allegedly inflicted severe physical, sexual, psychological, and spiritual harm on up to 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa, leaving an indelible impact on their lives. Mr Welby knew Smyth through their time at Iwerne Christian camps in the 1970s, yet the review found no proof that Mr Welby had "maintained any significant contact" with the barrister afterwards.

The report stated that while Mr Welby "did have reason to have some concern about" Smyth, this was not the same as suspecting he had committed severe abuse. It concluded it was "not possible to establish" whether Mr Welby knew of the severity of the abuse in the UK before 2013.

The report also 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 Justin Welby in 2013′′. The archbishop admitted he had "no idea or suspicion of this abuse" before 2013 but acknowledged the review had found that after its wider exposure that year he had "personally failed to ensure" Smyth, this was not the same as suspecting he had committed severe abuse, and concluded it was "energetically investigated". A petition has been launched stating: "Given his role in allowing abuse to continue, we believe that his continuing as the Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer tenable. "his position is untenable"We must see change, for the sake of survivors, for the protection of the vulnerable, and for the good of the church, and we share this determination across our traditions.

"his position is untenable"With sadness we do not think there is any alternative to his immediate resignation if the process of change and healing is to start now. " Giles Fraser, vicar of St Anne’s in Kew, west London, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "I’m afraid he’s really lost the confidence of his clergy, he’s lost the confidence of many of his bishops and his position is completely untenable.

" Marcus Walker, rector at St Bartholomew the Great in central London, expressed his doubts about Justin Welby's future, stating: "I cannot see how Justin Welby survives this. " He further added that Mr Welby's remaining time until retirement in 2026 would be marred by protests and damage to his supported projects, saying: "His last year and half will be dogged by protests; no one will want him to come and celebrate their anniversary services or ordinations; projects he supports will be damaged by association.

It would be desperately painful.".