The independent review by Keith Makin into the Church of England’s handling of allegations of serious abuse by the late John Smyth has been published.
The full review can be read here
Keith Makin, who led the independent review, said:
“The abuse at the hands of John Smyth was prolific and abhorrent. Words cannot adequately describe the horror of what transpired. Many of the victims who took the brave decision to speak to us about what they experienced have carried this abuse silently for more than 40 years.
“Despite the efforts of some individuals to bring the abuse to the attention of authorities, the responses by the Church of England and others were wholly ineffective and amounted to a coverup. The Church and its associated organisations must learn from this review and implement robust safeguarding procedures across their organisations that are governed independently.
“This has been a long process but a necessary one to uncover the extent of John Smyth’s despicable behaviour and how the Church reacted to it. I would like to sincerely thank the victims for their courage, grace and dignity and I would like to remind everyone reporting on this review about their right to anonymity and privacy.”
If you have been affected by this report, need support or wish to make a disclosure, do please contact the diocesan safeguarding team. You can contact us via safeguardingadvice@cofe-worcester.org.uk or ring on 01905 732800. Or contact Safespaces on safespaces@firstlight.org.uk Tel: 0300 303 1056. We are here and we are listening.
