Bishop of Dover says she wept after Welby resigned

The Bishop of Dover has said she wept after the Archbishop of Canterbury resigned as he faced pressure to stand down over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth.

The Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin said: "I know that he is very sad and I know that he is very sad for those especially who were abused by the church."

An independent review published last week found Justin Welby and other church officers should have formally reported Smyth in 2013.

Mr Welby, who resigned on Tuesday, said: "I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church."

Smyth was accused of attacking dozens of boys, including those he met at Christian camps, in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s.

The barrister and senior member of a Christian charity then moved to Zimbabwe and later South Africa, where he abused up to 100 boys aged 13 to 17, the Makin Review added.

By 2013, the Church of England "knew, at the highest level" about Smyth's abuse, including Mr Welby who took up the Church's top job that year.

If he and other Church officers had reported this to police in the UK and authorities in South Africa at that time, “John Smyth could have [been] brought to justice at a much earlier point”, the independent report said.

Mr Welby had previously resisted calls to step aside over his response to the case since 2013.

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