Disgraced Justin Welby could be banned from leading church services after failing to report child abuse to the police

SHAMED Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby could beryllium banned from starring religion services aft failing to study kid maltreatment to the police.

The Church of England’s erstwhile astir elder cleric resigned past week implicit a study criticising his handling of allegations against Christian campy person John Smyth, who sexually abused 130 boys and young men.

It sparked calls for a further probe into maltreatment wrong the Church and much resignations of others who knew.

Welby’s predecessor George Carey, Archbishop from 1991 to 2002, was stripped of his support to officiate successful 2020 aft different study recovered helium failed to walk accusation astir barrister Smyth to the authorities.

It meant helium was incapable to enactment arsenic a curate oregon pb services including mass.

The Church’s National Safeguarding Team concluded Carey, portion main of Trinity College Bristol successful the 1980s, had seen a study concerning Mr Smyth’s “evil conduct” and did not disclose these concerns to the authorities.

Carey, 89, denied having immoderate cognition of the claims, oregon ever gathering Smyth, and his licence was restored successful 2021.

A elder root said: “What happened to George Carey shows determination is simply a precedent for this.

“Welby has been recovered to person failed, personally, successful not reporting what the Church knew to the police.

“Given what happened to Lord Carey, determination person to beryllium superior questions asked arsenic to whether this excessively meets the threshold for suspension.

“Nobody is doubting that helium loves the Anglican church, but helium earnestly failed connected a captious topic, astatine a captious moment.”

Welby, 68, took the apical spiritual relation successful 2013 – erstwhile the Church “knew astatine the highest level” astir Smyth’s rampant maltreatment astatine summertime camps successful the 70s and 80s.

An autarkic study concluded that if helium and others had approached authorities, “John Smyth could person been brought to justness astatine a overmuch earlier point.”

Welby worked astatine camps successful Dorset wherever Smyth met immoderate of his victims, but insisted helium was unaware of the quality of the allegations until helium was a elder authoritative successful the Church.

British cops had been readying to question Smyth erstwhile helium died successful South Africa successful 2018, aged 77.

In his resignation letter, helium acknowledged that the reappraisal made wide helium had “personally failed to guarantee it was energetically investigated”.