Unholy mess

>> Welby quits over horrific child abuse cover-up at Christian camps >> But expert warns changes are needed to keep Church kids safe

- TOM PETTIFOR and SIMON MURPHY

JOHN Smyth's victims have told of their relief after Justin Welby quit over the vile barrister's abuses of boys at Christian camps.

But it came amid warnings his resignation is unlikely to change anything unless there is wholesale reform at the top of the Church of England to end the cover-ups and secrecy that allowed the attacker to operate.

The Archbishop of Canterbury caved in to pressure to go after the Makin Review found Smyth could have been brought to justice if Mr Welby had alerted police in 2013 to his crimes at Iwerne camps in Dorset, where he beat 26 to 30 boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

He targeted up to 100 more aged 13 to 17 before dying aged 75 in South Africa in 2018 - while under investigation by a UK force.

Andrew Graystone, who wrote a book on Smyth's abuse and the Church's handling of it, said Mr Welby's resignation yesterday was a "hugely emotional day" for the victims he spoke to.

Asked what they said, he replied: "That he had to go because of his failures, but it doesn't begin to make things right.