How disgraced Justin Welby moralised over Brexit & Rwanda scheme despite failing to report sick child abuse scandal

AS 400million watched worldwide, Justin Welby carefully lowered the 22-carat gold crown on to Charles’ head before pronouncing: “God save the King.”

The 1,000-year-old Coronation ritual in May last year enshrined the Archbishop of Canterbury’s key role in public life.

Described as the House of Windsor’s family chaplain, he also presided over the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George’s baptism and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s marriage.

The leader of 110million Anglicans, Welby used his position as Britain’s most senior cleric to pronounce on Brexit and tax avoidance.

The archbishop memorably described the Tory government’s Rwanda migrant scheme as “morally unacceptable”.

Yet when it came to a recent test of his own moral judgment he was found severely wanting.

An independent report published last week catalogued an “appalling” child abuse scandal that was covered up by the Church of England.

Worse still, Welby was told of the abuse in 2013 but failed to report it.

The monster responsible — a Canada-born barrister and churchman called John Smyth QC — was able to move to southern Africa and continue his sick assaults.

Smyth had subjected teenage boys to horrific attacks when he ran Christian holiday camps in the 1970s and 1980s.

Invited to a soundproofed shed in his Hampshire garden, Smyth would thrash youngsters whom he deemed to have sinned in a frenzy of sadomasochistic savagery.

One victim said the thrashings drew blood and recalled: “We used to have to wear nappies. The scale and severity of the practice was horrific. I have seen bruised and scored buttocks, some two and a half months after the beating.”

Welby worked at summer camps where Smyth is said to have met his victims but insists he was unaware of the abuse ­allegations until 2013.

In Africa, Smyth preyed on more innocents. “Justin Welby goes on a lot about the impact of colonisation and slavery,” one victim said but added that, in Zimbabwe, many felt Smyth’s abuse had been “exported by the UK to us”.

When the damning report was published Welby, who has said it’s “better to be woke than asleep”, thought he could brazen it out and resisted calls to resign.

For six days the old Etonian former oil executive stubbornly clung on.

His tin-eared obstinacy was met by a storm of complaint from his usually moderate and genteel Anglican flock.

A 15,000-strong petition demanded he quit and the Prime Minister pointedly failed to back the archbishop.

Yesterday, Welby finally discovered his moral compass. It was too late to spare abuse survivors more needless pain.

And too late to prevent lasting damage to his beloved Anglican church.