Ian Hislop said Justin Welby showed no regret over his handling of the John Smyth abuse case when he met him on the day after he handed in his resignation.
Welby claimed to have stepped down “in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse” when he resigned from his role following a damning report into a prolific child abuser associated with the Church of England.
The review found that he “could and should” have reported Smyth’s abuse of boys and young men to the police in 2013.
In a statement, Welby said that “it is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility” for his response after he was first told about the abuse.
“I hope this decision makes clear how seriously the Church of England understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church.”
But a report by Hislop in Private Eye paints a very different picture of events, with Welby seeming ‘unrepentant and unashamed’ on the day after his resignation.
The Archbishop saught Hislop out at the Trustees’ Annual Dinner at the British Museum, but things turned sour when the Private Eye editor challenged him on his friendship with Smyth.
“Welby seemed to me to be unrepentant and unashamed. I am not convinced he has been punished enough – unlike the poor boys his friend so mercilessly flogged in the name of Christianity.”
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