Abuse victim calls for Bishop of Lincoln to resign

The victim of a sadistic child abuser has called on the Bishop of Lincoln to resign over his failure to act once allegations emerged.

The man, whom the BBC is not identifying, said the Right Reverend Stephen Conway did not do enough as Bishop of Ely when he was informed of John Smyth’s abuse.

“He was the person in a position to stop John Smyth, bring him to justice, and he fundamentally failed,” he said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, Bishop Conway said he did all he could within his authority as a Church of England bishop, but that he was “deeply sorry” for not “rigorously pursuing” the matter with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Justin Welby has now resigned as Archbishop after it emerged he did not follow up rigorously enough on reports of Smyth’s abuse of more than 100 boys and young men.

The victim informed Bishop Conway’s then diocese of the allegations against Smyth in 2013, according to a damning report, external by ex-social services chief Keith Makin.

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