Archbishop of Canterbury under pressure to resign over church abuse scandal

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s position is now untenable, according to the Bishop of Newcastle who joined the growing calls for Justin Welby to resign.

More than 6,500 people have signed a petition by some General Synod members urging him to quit, over his failure to act more rigorously over the serial abuser John Smyth.

The abuse of boys and young men in South Africa continued after Justin Welby was informed.

But despite a report which said Mr Welby “could and should” have reported the allegations to police years before Mr Smyth died.