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Former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey is among a number of clergy facing possible disciplinary action over safeguarding failures after a report into prolific abuser John Smyth, the Church of England has announced.
The list also includes the former Bishop of Durham Paul Butler, who participated in King Charles' coronation service, and Rev Andrew Cornes - who is currently on the panel charged with choosing the next Archbishop of Canterbury.
Smyth, who died in 2018, used horrific violence to attack boys at his Winchester home who he had met at a Christian summer camp during the 1970s and 1980s, a report into his abuse found.
The report led to the eventual resignation of Justin Welby as archbishop of Canterbury in November after it found he "could and should" have reported Smyth's abuse to police in 2013.
The Church's National Safeguarding Team said two other members of clergy have not yet had their actions reviewed because of "ongoing processes".
Almost 30 other clergy criticised in the report will not face disciplinary action because there was "insufficient evidence to meet the threshold for disciplinary proceedings", it added.
A long-awaited report into Smyth's abuse, the Makin review, was released last year and concluded he was thought to be the most prolific serial abuser to be associated with the Church of England.
On publication of the findings, the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, Mr Welby, apologised to victims and said Smyth's abuse had "manipulated Christian truth to justify his evil acts".
However, the review concluded that Smyth might have been brought to justice had Mr Welby formally reported allegations to police in 2013.
Mr Welby had resisted calls to step aside over his response to the case since 2013. But amid mounting pressure once the report was published, he eventually said must take "personal and institutional responsibility" and resigned last year.
Lord Carey was also named in the Makin review, which concluded abuse carried out for decades by Smyth was known about and not acted upon by various people within the Church.
Lord Carey resigned as a priest in December following an investigation into the Church of England's handling of a separate sexual abuse case. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002.
The list of clergy who could face disciplinary action includes:
- Bishop Paul Butler
- Bishop George Carey
- Rev Roger Combes
- Rev Sue Colman
- Rev Andrew Cornes
- Rev Tim Hastie-Smith
- Rev Hugh Palmer
- Rev Paul Perkin
- Rev Nick Stott
- Rev John Woolmer
Alexander Kubeyinje, the Church of England's national director of safeguarding, said: "We must not forget that at heart of this case are the survivors and victims who have endured the lifelong effects of the appalling abuse by John Smyth, we are truly sorry.
"Today we have announced next steps in the process looking at both risk and disciplinary processes."
