Warning: the following content relates to crimes of abuse and could be both upsetting and triggering.
The Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) has confirmed it is seeking disciplinary proceedings under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) against retired minister Iain Broomfield in the light of the Makin Review.
Makin’s report spoke of the “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, a lay preacher in the Church of England, who died in 2018. Broomfield is a former chair of the Titus Trust, which was cited numerous times in the review.
On the first anniversary of the publication of the Makin Review, lead safeguarding bishops Joanne Grenfell and Robert Springett said the church’s National Safeguarding Steering Group had fully accepted 24 of Makin’s recommendations, and three in part.
Meanwhile, an expanded and revised edition of Andrew Greystone’s Bleeding for Jesus: John Smyth and the Cult of Iwerne Camps was due to be published in November.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, help is available via: FearFree Support (www.fearfree.org.uk); the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056 / safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk; The Samaritans helpline - 116 123; The National Association for People Abused in Childhood napac.org.uk.
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