Mr Welby recalled: “He (Mr Sertin) said: ‘One of the boys had a chat with me.’ “I don’t know who he was and I don’t remember if he told me but he wouldn’t tell me, he would definitely keep it secret but he said, ‘I’ve got nothing to do’ if I were you I’d be with him’ but nothing more than that.”

The archbishop said he thought the warning was “vague” and “based on incompatible personalities and there was no indication of the abuses that later came to light.”

However, the report concluded that the Archbishop “had some knowledge of John Smyth and concerns had been raised about him”. “He carried this knowledge with him later in life, when he became aware of serious concerns.”

He said the archbishop “knew John Smyth and had reason to have some concerns about him in general, but that was not the same as suspecting John Smyth of serious misconduct”, adding: “Based on this evidence” Justin Welby was in the United Kingdom before 2013 It is not possible to determine whether he knew the seriousness of the violations in .”

‘I have no opinion or doubt’

The archbishop insisted he had “no idea or suspicion” of the abuse before 2013, when the Bishop of Ely’s safeguarding adviser gave him detailed information about Smyth’s decades-long abuse.

Hampshire Police launched an investigation into Smyth in 2017 after his harassment was the subject of a Channel 4 News report. He died a year later, at age 77, while still under investigation; The Makin report found that he “was never brought to justice”.

The archbishop faced calls to resign following the report’s release, but admitted in an interview on Thursday night that he was “considering resigning” because of the scandal.

‘I am really sad’

The archbishop said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened that this abuse occurred.”

He said: “Before 2013 I had no idea or suspicion of this abuse.

“Yet on review it becomes clear that I personally failed to energetically investigate this terrible tragedy following the revelations in 2013. Since then, it’s like this Church of England Relations with victims and survivors have changed beyond recognition. “The checks and balances mechanisms that have been introduced are trying to ensure that the same thing does not happen today.”

He added: “I can conclude by thanking them again for their courage and persistence, and apologizing deeply not only for my own failures and negligence, but also for the wider misdeeds, concealments and abuses of the Church in the report.”