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Ian Hislop wrote in Private Eye about meeting Justin Welby the day after he resigned and it’s a devastating, important read

John Plunkett. Updated November 21st, 2024

The Archbishop of Canterbury announced his resignation last week over his handling of one of the church’s worst abuse scandals.

Justin Welby finally stepped down after a damning report on the Church of England’s cover-up of abuse by John Smyth, a powerful barrister who is believed to have abused 130 boys before his death in 2018. An independent review concluded Smyth could have been brought to justice had Welby formally reported it to police a decade ago.

We mention it because in the latest issue of Private Eye, editor Ian Hislop wrote a rare first person piece after he met Welby at a British Museum event the day after he resigned.

And it went viral because it’s a devastating, important read.

Here it is again, just in case that’s tricky to read in full.

Here is the front page of the current issue (you can subscribe here, find the website here, and follow Private Eye on Twitter here.)

And here are just a few of the many things people said about it.

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To conclude …

Source Private Eye H/T @PeterBradshaw1