The Church of England has published the final report on the recommendations of the Makin Review.
The Makin Review was first published in late 2024 and detailed the Church’s response to allegations of abuse against the late John Smyth.
Smyth died in 2018 and is believed to be responsible for abuse going back decades in both Britain and Africa. The Makin Review concluded that the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had not taken sufficient action once he became aware of the allegations.
Welby stood down as a result and has admitted that he “personally failed to ensure … [that] the awful tragedy was energetically investigated”. Welby has also contested some of Makin’s findings, arguing that subsequent evidence confirmed that the allegations against Smyth had in fact been reported to the authorities and that the police had told the Church not to investigate further as doing so could harm their own enquiries.
The final report on the review says confirms that the Church will accept 24 of the 27 recommendations made by the Independent Lessons Learned Review in full and the remaining three will be accepted in part.
The report notes that the Church has made significant progress since the review. It has introduced mandatory Safeguarding Codes of Practice, imposed stronger disciplinary measures for clergy, introduced independent safeguarding audits, strengthened protections for whistleblowers and clarified the process of reporting safeguarding concerns to the statutory authorities.
Other areas are still said to be in progress, with more work needed when it comes to managing safeguarding in international contexts. The report also said the Church needed to offer a more consistent level of support to survivors of abuse.
The Rt Rev Robert Springett, lead Safeguarding Bishop for the Church of England, said in an introduction to the report, “This report is, first and foremost, about people – all who have experienced abuse within the Church of England. We write with humility, and with a complete and unreserved belief in those who have come forward.
“This report is clear that safeguarding must always take precedence over institutional loyalty. Ultimately, what is needed is culture change: deep, sustained, and reaching to every level of the Church, from its national structures to every parish.”
