Press release from the Church of England
Smyth Review: update from independent reviewer
13/12/2022
December 2022
The independent reviewer, Keith Makin, has confirmed that the Learning Lessons Review is now reaching its final stages. This message has been relayed to the victims and survivors with whom the reviewers are in contact. The review team has analysed previously unpublished documents, including contemporaneous correspondence and notes from the relevant period. The material gathered, including testimonies, written statements and witness statements has been extensive, and far greater than originally envisaged. The next stage will be consultation with victims, as part of the review team’s commitment to put victims at the heart. This is intended to begin in the week commencing 9 January 2023. Once this is completed, it will be followed by a representations process involving individuals and organisations who will be named and criticised in the published report. If you wish to be part of the consultation with victims, and are not already in contact with the review team, please contact Keith Makin at keith.makin@independentreviews.live.
The review team and NST regret this necessary further delay, which they recognise will understandably be disappointing for victims and survivors.
The NST has arranged continued support for victims through Nina Tanner, a specialist Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA). The formerly named Splitz organisation have changed their name to Fear-Less.org.uk Home – Fear Less (fear-less.org.uk) but still provide the same service to victim and survivors. Nina remains the independent lead for support for the victims of John Smyth and fulfils the same role as before. If you need support, she can be contacted on Nina.Tanner@fear-less.org.uk or on 07825 741751. If you have been affected by this latest update and need support, please do contact Nina.
The NST continues to look into every clergy person of whom they have been informed, within the scope of the Terms of Reference, who may have failed to disclose Smyth’s abuse.
The project management of the Review has been poor. Insufficient resource in the early stages; incuriosity about why dozens of priests who know about Smyth’s crimes were not forming an orderly queue to volunteer information. Why were leaders from that constituency not urging co-operation? Why was the number one expert on Smyth – Andrew Graystone – who investigated and wrote the book ” Bleeding for Jesus” not engaged much earlier? I have asked how much the cover-up by this sect within CofE Evangelicalism has cost us. We are not allowed to know. I stress – some Conservative Evangelicals have been… Read more »
Your point about the Coronation seems completely on message. This will be brutal for all concerned.
It seems that Brutality has already been meted out to Smyth’s many victims and is an ingredient in the delay
“The NST continues to look into every clergy person of whom they have been informed, within the scope of the Terms of Reference, who may have failed to disclose Smyth’s abuse.” That’s three years of ‘looking into’ these people. Clergy people… So has anyone been held to account yet? No. Not in the UK, not in South Africa. And it’s thirty years since Smyth’s first known act of abuse. The Makin Report, if any of us should live to see it published, won’t name names, but we already know them thanks in particular to Andrew Graystone. “The final report will… Read more »
Helen, while always extremely grateful for your advocacy for whistleblowers and survivors at GS, and you in such a small minority, I dare to hope there MAY be a misunderstanding here? The full context of your final quote is as follows: ‘The independent reviewer is Keith Makin, Keith will be assisted by Sarah Lawrence who is also independent. They would like to speak with anyone who suffered abuse by John Smyth or has been affected by it. The reviewers are also keen to hear from people with other information which may help with the review. All communication and meetings will… Read more »
Helen, I fully echo your concerns about a lack of action by the C of E, I would say for 30+ years going back to at least Peter Ball and effectively every single safeguarding/whistleblowing case since, even when some whistleblowers have very sadly either committed or attempted suicide. The Church Leadership has always seemed far more interested in damage limitation and reputation management than anything else and that continues in 2022 as fellow survivors and whistleblowers attest. NST’s only response appears to be to dramatically tighten the rules over LLCRs (while hoping no one would notice) to ensure that a… Read more »
Except George Carey, who was suspended for some months despite being much less culpable than many we could name.
In fact it is more than forty years since the earliest acts. The Coltart report records one in 1978 and further states that John Smyth left the UK in 1984. That indicates the relevant time frame as 1978 to 1984 (at the latest). He returned sometimes to appear in trials instigated by Mrs Mary Whitehouse. It has already been made clear that events in Africa – Zimbabwe and South Africa – are not within Mr Makin’s remit.
Reparations are bound to have to extend to Zimbabwe and South Africa. There is a causal link between events which occurred there (including the death of a boy in the swimming pool at Ruzawi School, where I taught for a short time) and the actions of all those (including those who proposed the scheme, to the extent still alive) who aided and abetted (and supported financially) Smyth’s removal from the UK, both to protect the evangelical sect of which he was a part, and help him (successfully as it turned out) evade justice. Expect litigation as to who will be… Read more »
Very unwise, I suggest, to hypothesise on these lines. I’m reminded of the old dictum ‘the law is not concerned with the causes of causes’. Let’s follow Lord Asquith’s convention of “wait and see”.