Justin Welby has form when it comes to defending disgraced public figures. In 2022, he had a crack at supporting Prince Andrew, arguing that he was ‘seeking to make amends’ and we should learn to be a more forgiving society. The public pushback against the then Archbishop of Canterbury was notable. This weekend, it was Welby’s chance to defend his own legacy, when he appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg for his first interview since resigning as Archbishop of Canterbury. Thankfully, sweating and Pizza Express did not feature.
Instead, Welby sought to defend his failure to properly respond to allegations against the serial abuser John Smyth – which led to Welby resigning his post last year.
In October, the independent Makin review found that the church had covered up Smyth’s violent abuse for decades. The review also found that Welby had failed to follow-up reports about Smyth’s abuses rigorously enough. Smyth died in 2018 before he could be prosecuted.
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