Church of England victims fight for compensation

Victims of John Smyth’s brutal physical and sexual abuse have welcomed a letter from the Church of England’s safeguarding team in which the institution “accepts the harm caused” and offers a meeting with Justin Welby.

The Archbishop of Canterbury resigned earlier this week after failing to do enough to stop Smyth’s abuse of as many as 130 boys and young men. But now we can reveal that a legal loophole could mean the victims – some of whom have had their lives and livelihoods ruined – will not receive financial compensation for what happened, because Smyth was not directly employed by the church .