Sir Keir Starmer appeared to have twisted the knife this morning after being questioned about the future of Justin Welby at a COP press conference in Azerbaijan.
The Prime Minister previously declined to say anything regarding the Archbishop of Canterbury’s future on the flight over, as more and more voices join the chorus calling on him to go.
However Sir Keir’s position has since shifted, using the press conference to condemn the “horrific” allegations against Justin Welby.
Sky News asked the PM whether he agreed with the principle that when senior figures in public life fail to intervene when alerted to potential criminality they should face consequences.
Sir Keir replied: “Let me clear, of what I know of the allegations they are clearly horrific in relation to this particular case.”
“Both in their scale and their contents, and my thoughts as with all of these issues are with the victims who have obviously been failed very very badly.
“It’s a matter in the end for the church, but I’m not going to shy away from the fact these are horrific allegations and that my thoughts are with the victims. I think that’s very important.”
Justin Welby is clinging on this morning as a growing number of politicians, vicars and bishops call for his resignation.
This morning Nigel Farage Farage blasted: “Archbishop Welby has overseen the collapse of the Anglican Church in this country.”
“Yet, for all his progressive positions, he turned a blind eye to terrible abuse.
“He must go.”
Mr Farage was joined by fellow Reform UK MP Lee Anderson, who went further and called for Mr Welby to be “locked up”.
The Archbishop’s future was thrown into turmoil this week after a swathe of vicars and bishops said his future in untenable after playing a role in a cover-up of “abhorrent” child abuse by serial predator John Smyth.
The demands began last week after a new report was published setting out a large-scale cover-up by the Church of Child Abuse by barrister John Smyth in Zimbabwe and South Africa, with as many as 130 victims.
The Makin report set out that the Archbishop had been informed of the abuse allegations in 2013, but failed to take action while Smyth was still alive.
It said: “[Welby] may not have known of the extreme seriousness of the abuse, but it is most probable that he would have had at least a level of knowledge that John Smyth was of some concern”.
Mr Welby’s future may be debated in the House of Commons today, after MPs pushed for an urgent statement from the Government.
Top Tory Nick Timothy has requested the Urgent Question, after writing yesterday that the Church of England chief must go.
Mr Timothy, who served as Theresa May’s chief of staff in Downing Street, said that while critics should be fair to Mr Welby and acknowledge improvements to children safeguarding in the Church since he took over, he failed in his duty regarding Mr Smyth.
