Justin Welby jokes about ‘playing football with chopped off head’ in last speech

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury referenced the gory beheading of his medieval predecessor while addressing his historic resignation in his final House of Lords speech.

Justin Welby said it was ‘clear’ he had to step down following the scathing Makin Review into the Church of England’s response to the crimes of serial abuser John Smyth.

But he lamented the many events he has had to cancel in the coming year, saying people should pity his diary secretary who has had to wipe the calendar clean.

He told peers: ‘It is often said, and it is a cliche to say it – but hey, I’m the archbishop still – that if you want to make God laugh, make plans.

‘Well, on that basis, next year I will be causing God more hilarity than anyone else for many years, because the plans for next year were very detailed and extensive.’

Moving on to address the circumstances of his departure, Welby said: ‘The reality is that there comes a time, if you are leading a particular institution or area of responsibility, where the shame of what has gone wrong – whether one is personally responsible or not – must require a head to roll.

‘And there is only, in this instance, one head that rolls well enough.

‘I hope not literally – one of my predecessors in 1371, Simon of Sudbury, had his head cut off, and it was then the revolting peasants played football with it at the Tower of London.

‘I don’t know who won. It certainly wasn’t Simon of Sudbury.’

The independent report found that Welby, 68, failed to ensure a proper investigation was carried out into the ‘abhorrent’ abuse of more than 130 boys and young men starting in the 1970s by Smyth.

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