Priest Justin Welby “knew nothing” about the Church of England’s most prolific abuser and was being used as a scapegoat. scandalAccording to John Smyth’s son-in-law.

Speaking about the “appalling” abuse inflicted by evangelical Christian Smyth, who targeted children decades before his death, Andy Henderson said: Archbishop of Canterbury He had been “forced out”.

The 65-year-old, who is the widower of Smyth’s eldest daughter Nicola, added that Welby was left “carrying the box”.

Speaking of the abuse, the project manager said: “What he did is absolutely horrific, disgusting.

“The abuse I read about is extremely shocking and incomprehensible. It was only by reading the report that I learned all of this, all the horrific details, and it made me sick.”

“This is something the family is horrified about, but they don’t talk about it. “This is not something they want to discuss.”

Mr Henderson married Smyth’s eldest daughter in 1995, before she died of breast cancer aged 43.

He described the disgraced Smyth and his wife Anne as the “absent” grandparents of his three children.

Referring to his late wife, Mr Henderson said: “She never told me about it and maybe she didn’t know anything about it.”

He added: “It’s truly surprising. I am shocked. “This is such a terrible thing… I was so grateful that my wife was already dead when the story broke in 2013.”

‘I think he was attacked’

Archbishop resigned this week After mounting pressure following the publication of the damning Makin report.

But Mr Henderson said he feared he might have been used as a scapegoat.

“His resignation probably came after a lot of pressure but I think it was wrong to force him out,” he told The Daily Mail.

He added: “From what I could see, he didn’t know anything about it. My sense is that he is the general manager and thought this matter was passed on to the police… and the police chose not to address it.

“I’m a Christian myself, and I think he was left to carry the box; I think he was pushed.”

He described his father-in-law as “sick” and revealed that he and his children did not attend the funeral in Cape Town, South Africa, where Smyth died at the age of 77.

Mr Henderson said he had also had no contact with his mother-in-law Anne since the full extent of the abuse was revealed.

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