The investigation will try to establish which Church staff knew about the abuse, whether they responded appropriately and whether the attacks could have been prevented.

Smyth, a former barrister, was the chairman of the Iwerne Trust between 1974 and 1981. The organisation invited boys and young men from public schools, including students from Winchester College, to the camps, known as "Bash camps".

It emerged in 2017 that Smyth, an anti-gay campaigner, had handed out up to 800 lashes to numerous males, some so severe the victims were left bleeding.

Shortly before he was due to be extradited from his home in South Africa to Britain to be interviewed by Hampshire Police, Smyth died from a heart attack.

The archbishop, who attended the camps in the 1970s, was forced to issued an "unreserved and unequivocal" apology on behalf of the Church because it had "failed terribly" to stop Smyth from abusing the youngsters.

Although he said he knew Smyth, Archbishop Welby insisted he had been "completely unaware" of any abuse and it was only in 2013 that he learned of the allegations.

His office at Lambeth Palace is expected to hand over documents connected to the allegations to the review team.

The National Safeguarding Team of the Church of England has appointed Keith Makin, a former director of social services, to examine how the church, the Titus Trust, which took over running the camps in 1997, the Scripture Union, which managed the camps, and Winchester College handled the claims.

However, according to the review terms of reference, the Titus Trust will not "engage" with the review due to "ongoing legal action." The Scripture Union will also not take part.

Winchester College was informed of claims surrounding sadomasochistic abuse by Smyth at the camps in 1982. A secret report by the Iwerne Trust that year told of the "horrific" assaults on the teenage boys. However, neither the college nor the trust reported the allegations to the police. Smyth was banned from attending college or contacting the pupils.

In 2017, the college issued a statement saying it deeply regretted the ordeals its pupils endured. It added while there was no attempt to cover up the crimes many parents felt their children should be spared "further trauma" and so police were not then contacted.

The review document says Smyth was "encouraged by those involved in the Iwerne Trust" Smyth to work overseas after learning of allegations against him.

Andrew Graystone, who represents some of the 26 abuse survivors, said he went onto abuse 90 young males in Zimbabwe.

He said: "It's disappointing that it's taken six years since the first disclosures were made formally to the church before this review to be launched.

"In that time, some survivors who have spoken out have lost confidence in the church and are not sure whether they will support the review."

A spokesman for the Archbishop said: "The Archbishop has been supportive of an independent review taking place and welcomes the fact that it is now starting."

A spokesperson for the Titus Trust said: "The Titus Trust welcomes the Church of England's review into the Smyth case and has already shared a significant amount of information with the Church's national safeguarding team, indicating to them several weeks ago that 'We are very happy to be involved in a review and seek to be as transparent and supportive as we can be' but that 'we remain restricted by on-going legal action.' We look forward to being able to participate in the review process to an even greater extent once the legal proceedings relating to the case are over".

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Independent inquiry to probe Church of England's handling of John Smyth allegations

CHRISTIAN TODAY
Aug. 14, 2019

An independent review is to be carried out into the Church of England's handling of allegations against the John Smyth QC.

Smyth, who died last year at the age of 77, was accused of severely beating boys at his home in Winchester who had been groomed at Iwerne camps.

The holiday camps were designed to instil an evangelical ethos into young Christians with the aim of raising up future leaders in the Church of England.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby worked as a dormitory officer at the camps as a young man but has said he did not know of Smyth's abuse. He is expected to give evidence during the review.

The allegations against Smyth were publicly exposed in February 2017 following a Channel 4 News investigation.

Mr Smyth was first confronted about the allegations in 1982 after an internal report commissioned by Rev Mark Ruston and Rev David Fletcher. The report was not passed on to the police.

Mr Smyth then left England for Zimbabwe and had been in the process of being extradited back to the UK at the time of his death.

Fletcher and his brother Jonathan were both part of the Iwerne leadership. Earlier this year, it emerged that Jonathan Fletcher had been barred from preaching by the Church of England as a result of accusations that he had engaged in "physical discipline" that amounted to spiritual abuse.

The allegations were passed on to the police who did not take any further action and in a statement, Fletcher denied any wrongdoing.

The independent review is to be overseen by Keith Makin, a former director of social services, and will consider the response of the Church of England to the allegations.

In addition to considering the actions of officials within the Church of England, it will also hear testimonies of those who have come forward to say they are victims of Smyth.

Commenting on the review, the Church of England's lead safeguarding bishop, Peter Hancock said: "I know for survivors of John Smyth this review into the Church's response -- and the response of others - is vital to them.

"It was their bravery in coming forward that finally brought the abuse perpetrated by Smyth to the attention of the police and wider Church.

"We commend their actions and I pray that with cooperation from the other organisations the review will be comprehensive and that lessons will be learnt both by the Church and all those involved. We recognise that the process of a review can be a very difficult one, and our thoughts remain with the victims and survivors of John Smyth.

"We remain aware that there are others who were victims of Smyth that have not come forward to the Church and we urge them to make contact if they would like support."