The long-awaited Makin review concluded that the “prolific, brutal and appalling” abuse carried out by Church of England Reader John Smyth was covered up by “powerful evangelical clergy”.

The “Review of learning independent subjects”, which was first planned to be published five years ago, lists the Archbishop of Canterbury among those who failed to act. The report states that the Church of England knew about the abuse at “the highest level” since 2013 but failed to communicate this to either the police or the relevant authorities in South Africa, where Smyth died during the police investigation ( News, 13 August 2018 ).

Archbishop Welby issued a strongly worded and deeply personal apology for his “profound failings” after the report was published on Thursday afternoon.

“The review makes clear that, following the disclosure in 2013, I was personally unable to ensure that this terrible tragedy was vigorously investigated,” he said.

He said the way the Church of England interacted with victims and survivors had changed beyond recognition. “The checks and balances that have been developed attempt to ensure that the same thing does not happen today. (However) I repeat my apology in the review for not being able to meet with victims quickly after Channel 4 revealed the full horror of abuse in 2017. As stated in the report, no Archbishop can meet everyone, but I promised and saw them and failed until 2020. “This was wrong.”

He said lessons have been learned over the past 11 years. “This does not reverse the horrific abuse suffered, but I hope it can at least provide some comfort to the victims. I thank them once again for their courage and persistence, and acknowledge not only my own failures and negligence, but also the wider evils, concealments and abuses of the church as set out in the report.” I can end by deeply apologizing for their abuses.”

Echoing previous safeguarding reviews, the Makin report concludes that the desire to protect the reputation of an institution and individuals shapes the response of those who know about abuse. The Rev. David Fletcher, who was notified of the abuse in 1981, described the investigation before his death: “I thought it would do great harm to the work of God if it became public.” The review states that Canon Michael Green was “sworn to secrecy”.

Mr Makin concludes that by 2012 a “significant number” of people knew about the abuse, writing that the evidence “strips the edges” that only a “tight group of people” claimed to know. Those with knowledge of the abuse included “many Church Officials,” including at least one bishop. “A significant number of those aware of the abuse at the time were very senior figures within the Church of England or held very senior positions such as Archbishops and Chaplains to the Queen.” Conservative Evangelical network,” one of whom was a member of the General Synod.

The abuse “should have been reported to senior figures within the Church of England and the relevant authorities, including the police,” Mr Makin wrote, concluding that Smyth “was able to abuse boys and young men in Zimbabwe (and possibly South Africa)”. ) due to the inaction of clergy within the Church of England”. A boy named Guide Nyachuru died “under suspicious circumstances” at one of Smyth’s camps in Zimbabwe.

Details of the sadistic abuse, which included severe beatings in a soundproof shed, have been made public since the investigation began. Channel 4 News seven years ago (News, 10 February 2017), the review details the extent of the “traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual assaults” committed by Smyth more than 50 years ago.

There are at least 30 victims in England. Some were 13 years old. Smyth’s own son was also abused between the ages of 7 and 11. One victim said in review: “I remember thinking, ‘He’s going to kill me.’ I was so scared.” One of the victims attempted suicide after Smyth advised her to self-harm as a way of dealing with sexual feelings.

Smyth, QC, was a former chairman of the Iwerne Trust, which, together with the Scripture Union, ran holiday camps for boys in English state schools (its activities were later taken over by the Titus Trust). Smyth met most of his victims at Winchester College.

It is already known that many in the Church of England were aware of Smyth’s abuse in the early 1980s. The Iwerne Trust launched an investigation after a young man was so frightened by beatings that he attempted suicide in 1981. The confidential report, completed in 1982, was written by the Rev. Mark Ruston, a C of E priest. he was Vicar of the Holy Sepulchre at All Saints in Cambridge and with the Rev. David Fletcher (who died in 2022).

The Makin review notes that six members of the clergy were among those who received a copy of the report and concludes that they “participated in an active cover-up to prevent the report and its findings, including that crimes had been committed, from being revealed.” light”. In the years that followed, more and more people learned about this exploit.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury was a lodge steward at the Iwerne holiday camp in the late 1970s, where Smyth was one of the leaders. He always maintained that he was unaware of any abuse until 2013 and initially denied that Smyth was Anglican ( News , 18 April 2019). This is one of a number of inaccuracies in his account that the review corrects.

He told the review that he was warned in 1981 by the Rev. Peter Sertin, Vicar of St Michael’s in Paris (where the Archbishop worships), to “stay away” from Smyth, who was “not really a good man”. . The archbishop told the review that the warning was “vague”. He argued that exchanging Christmas cards with Smyth and donations to Smyth’s ministry in Zimbabwe were not indicative of closeness.

The review concludes that, on the balance of probabilities, “Justin is highly unlikely.”
Welby had no knowledge of the concerns regarding John Smyth.
In England in the 1980s. He might not have been aware of the seriousness of the situation.
abuse, but is likely to have been subjected to at least some level of abuse.
I knew John Smyth was worried.”

Former Bishop of Chelmsford, John Trillo, who died in 1992, was informed of the abuse in 1983 when he chaired a selection conference at which Smyth was being considered. The review also reports that Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, was informed of the misconduct when he was Principal of Trinity College in Bristol and was sent a copy of a draft of the Ruston report, but denied having seen it.

The Reverend Hugh Palmer, later Rector of All Souls’ Langham Place, visited a victim who nearly took his own life in 1982. He told the inquiry he was unaware that the attempt was linked to harassment. In 1982 a victim discussed the abuse with Canon Andrew Cornes. There is no action he takes to respond to this. He told the review he thought the matter had been addressed.

The review notes that many of Smyth’s victims have since become church officials and are technically “unable to act” under the Terms of Reference. These include the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford.

Mr Makin writes that Smyth’s abuse became known at the “highest levels” of the Church of England from July 2013, among others, to Archbishop Welby and the then Bishop of Ely, the Rt Revd Stephen Conway, and other senior church officials. But Mr Makin said there was a “marked lack of curiosity” and concluded that Smyth “could and should have been reported to the police in 2013”.

Yvonne Quirk, safeguarding advisor to the Bishop of Ely, was contacted by police in July 2013 regarding the victims’ disclosures. Mr Makin said he had been informed that the police could not pursue the case any further. Mr Makin says it was assumed by church leaders that this process amounted to a “report to the police”, although no criminal record or reference number was given. On Christmas Day 2013, one of Smyth’s victims attempted suicide.

Failure to formally refer him to the police in 2013 meant that three and a half years were essentially “lost”; “it was a time when he could have been brought to justice and identified and stopped any abuses he had committed in South Africa”. Mr Makin says although there is “little concrete information” about Smyth’s actions during this time, “it is highly likely that he was continuing to harass young boys”. Mr Makin details complaints made about Smyth’s behavior at Bible study groups he ran in Cape Town: he would shower with young men attending the sessions, “then get naked while talking to them about masturbation and pornography.”

Accompanying the reviewers is psychologist Dr. Ellie Hanson concluded: “The (religious) beliefs in which John Smyth operated are critical to understanding how he manipulated his victims into this, how it went on for so long, and how he evaded justice. ” Victims described how Smyth talked about sin before being abused and how the biggest “sin” was described as masturbation.

The review is based largely on harrowing testimonies from victims. One remembered that in the last conversation he had with his father, his father was still apologizing to him. “If Justin Welby or the Church of England had made public the abuse of John Smyth in 2013, it would have been a different life, or the end of a different life, for my father,” he said.

The Rt Revd Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford, who was Smyth’s victim, released a statement saying reading the report was “both an eye-opening and deeply distressing experience”.

He continued: “There are many things here that are extremely shocking, particularly the exploitation of so many victims in Africa following the disastrous decision by Iwerne and the Winchester organizations to cover up the events. As the report noted, these attempts were flawed from the start, and any notion that Smyth’s behavior could be regulated was extremely naive. Smyth’s combination of charm and menace, narcissism and manipulation, duplicity and violence made him a very dangerous man indeed and completely uncontrollable by normal means.

He said the report would not be an easy read for everyone involved. “But my hope and prayer is that it will bring at least some relief to Smyth’s victims – British and African, known and unknown – and also teach useful lessons as we redouble our efforts to build a safer Church.”

A group of survivors expressed their outrage after the report was published on Thursday. they said Church Times He stated that they welcomed the review. They said good protection remained in “most, if not all, dioceses.” “We are actively encouraged by this local study, but we are completely appalled by the behavior of C of the E hierarchy.”

They said the 27 recommendations in the report “reflect similar recommendations in dozens of previous conservation reports over 40 years that the C of E has previously chosen to ignore or ignore.”

“Unfortunately, we have little confidence that the C of E will take the recommendations of this Review any further than the recommendations of many previous safeguarding reports.”

Commenting on the late delivery of the Makin report, they said: “Justice delayed is justice denied, especially for all the victims of John Smyth who are now dead. We attribute the majority of this delay to deliberate underfunding of the project by C of E.”

The group also said the findings “show that the entire Church hierarchy still lacks an understanding of the trauma-informed approach, despite it having been set out many times before, including most recently in the 2023 Wilkinson Review.” . . “The church continues to communicate with victims and survivors in highly inappropriate ways in 2024.”

In particular, they were “concerned that some Church leaders were trying to characterize John Smyth as a ‘lone wolf.’ In fact, he is part of a long and continuing tradition of abusers, many of whom target the C of E as a ‘soft touch’.”

They said other victims of John Smyth could now come forward. “The C of E must commit today to produce a follow-up report within 18 months, based on future evidence if necessary.”

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