British police were first alerted in the summer of 2013.

One of his victims had sought advice from the Bishop of Ely’s safeguarding adviser. Some details about the case and another alleged victim have been passed to Cambridgeshire police.

According to the Makin review, safeguarding counsel were told officers could do nothing: Smyth’s actions were “an abuse of trust” but were “unlikely to meet the threshold of a criminal investigation”.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police told the BBC: “Due to the limited information available at the time and the victims not wishing to make a complaint, it was not possible for us to investigate.”

The diocese of Ely was advised to contact police in Hampshire, where most of the alleged crimes took place, and was told an intelligence report had been sent by Cambridgeshire Police to their counterparts in Hampshire, although no record was found of the Makin review.

Hampshire Police told the BBC they first received a report of harassment in October 2014.

A representative of the Titus Trust, a subsidiary of the organization that runs the summer camps where the abuse occurred, gave them a summary of the abuse allegations.

However, police did not know the identities of the alleged victims. A spokesperson for Hampshire Police told the BBC they had asked for details but “the third party refused to provide them, stating that the victims would contact the police”.

They didn’t, and it’s not clear why not.

According to victims who spoke to the Makin review, this was a “critical and significant missed opportunity”.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police told the BBC: “The matter has been filed pending further information.”