CANTERBURY (UNITED KINGDOM)
GB News [London, England]
February 28, 2026
By Marcus Donaldson
The retired bishop also appeared to dispute certain conclusions made in the report on his handling of the scandal
Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has been seeing a psychiatrist to help him come to terms with his “failure” in handling the Church of England’s abuse scandal.
The 70-year-old stepped down from his position in November 2024, shortly after an independent report exposed how senior Church figures, including himself, had maintained what investigators described as a “conspiracy of silence” regarding prolific abuser John Smyth.
Smyth, who died in 2018 aged 75 without facing justice, subjected over 100 boys and young men to physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks across five decades.
“I’ve been seeing a psychotherapist for a considerable period of time. And a psychiatrist. Very helpful,” the retired bishop admitted.
“It’s not about saying, ‘oh, it didn’t matter,’ or anything like that, quite the reverse – how does one live with such a failure?”
Mr Welby made the admission while speaking on Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast.
During the same podcast interview, he appeared to dispute certain conclusions reached by Keith Makin, who authored the damning independent review into Smyth and the Church’s failures.
The former archbishop acknowledged that he was “perceived not to have given enough priority to a group of victims,” which he accepted was “absolutely correct.”
However, Mr Welby contested the initial perception of events, stating: “The initial perception was that we’d not reported it to the police – in fact, it had been reported to the police.”
Mr Welby has also claimed that the report’s findings were incomplete, asserting that evidence emerged after the report’s publication.
Keith Makin directly challenged this characterisation, clarifying that his report acknowledged the matter had been communicated to authorities but that Mr Welby had not pursued it beyond receiving assurances from the Ely diocese that police were investigating.
“My report makes the point that Bishop Welby knew of John Smyth, and it should have been the case that he should take more interest than a simple assurance,” he stated.