covered up decades of england covered up decades of england covered up decades of abuse carried out byjohn smyth. one other main headline today. smyth. one other main headline toda . h, smyth. one other main headline toda . , a, smyth. one other main headline toda . h, , a, a, smyth. one other main headline toda . , a, a, , today. the sound you hear is the ticking — today. the sound you hear is the ticking clock. _ today. the sound you hear is the ticking clock. the - today. the sound you hear is the ticking clock. the un - the ticking clock. the un secretary-general - the ticking clock. the un secretary-general once l the ticking clock. the un - secretary-general once leaders secretary—general once leaders at cop29 they have to act on climate change with time running out. —— warns leaders. we start with the breaking news that the archbishop of canterbury has announced his resignation. he'd come under mounting pressure over a report highlighting how he had failed to deal with a prolific abuser associated with the church of england. john smyth abused dozens of children and young men over a number of decades. senior figures in the anglican church said justin welby�*s position was untenable because he'd failed to prevent smyth from carrying out more crimes after he'd first been told of the abuse. smyth died in south africa

in 2018 without facing justice. in a statement, archbishop justin welby said — when i was informed in 2013 and told that police had been notified, i believed wrongly that an appropriate resolution would follow. it is very clear that i must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 202111 hope this decision makes clear how seriously the church of england understands the need for change and our profound commitment to creating a safer church. as i step down i do so in sorrow with all victims and survivors of abuse. i believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the church of england, which i dearly love and which i have been honoured to serve. our religion editor aleem maqbool has more. has been a lot of talk behind the scenes swirling around lambeth palace

among clergy, certainly among survivor groups, among bishops, even, as to whether the archbishop of canterbury's position was tenable after this report in which he was found personally culpable. certainly the church had lots of questions to answer as to howjohn smyth was able to perpetrate abuse over 50 years with more than 120 victims. but as harry was saying, we knew from 20, he knew from 2013, and yet the abuse continued. the archbishop of canterbury said last week when the report came out, that he acknowledged more could have been done. he apologised for the abuse that was faced by the victims. he apologised for not meeting survivors soon enough, but he said he considered resigning at that point and decided against it. well, clearly a lot of other people around him had felt that he needed to send a clearer message as to how seriously the church takes safeguarding.

and in part of his statement, he does say the last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame of the historic safeguarding failures of the church of england. for nearly 12 years i have struggled to introduce improvements. it's for others to judge what's been done. but, he says, i believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the church of england, which i dearly love and which i've been honoured to serve. i think for a lot of people, that will be the right move for an institution that was struggling to convince people that it was a safe place after scandal after scandal over the years, and for the integrity of the person at the very top to be questioned, made it for a lot of people, including some of those who spoke out to us in recent days calling for archbishop welby to resign, they felt it made it very difficult to defend the church and its safeguarding

procedures, which, as archbishop welby says, have improved over the past 11 years. but clearly there are still huge failings and these are recent failings that we're talking about. and that, i think, is why archbishop welby felt he needed to go to the palace today to speak to the king and ask his permission to step down. let's speak now to father alex frost who is the vicar of st matthew's church in burnley. you have been calling for him to go over the last 2a hours, your reaction now he has. to go over the last 24 hours, your reaction now he has. good afternoon- _ your reaction now he has. good afternoon- i _ your reaction now he has. good afternoon. i think _ your reaction now he has. good afternoon. i think it _ your reaction now he has. good afternoon. i think it is - your reaction now he has. good afternoon. i think it is the - afternoon. i think it is the right decision, it is a positive move for the church of england, ijust wish it had come sooner. i think it would have been better for the well—being of the church if he had gone rather than being pushed. there seem to be a desire to hang on at all costs

and it is a very sad day, but i think it is a positive day for the church.— think it is a positive day for the church. you had said that his position _ the church. you had said that his position was _ the church. you had said that his position was untenable. l his position was untenable. just lay out for people watching why you had come to that conclusion.— that conclusion. well, to be honest, that conclusion. well, to be honest. i — that conclusion. well, to be honest, i come _ that conclusion. well, to be honest, i come to _ that conclusion. well, to be honest, i come to you - that conclusion. well, to be - honest, i come to you speaking as an urban parish priest in the diocese and i want to be a voice for the hard—working christians in the church who kind of get punished with this awful tag that we are all kind of paedophiles and child abusers where the reality is we are hard—working, drafting, are ha rd—working, drafting, clergy are hard—working, drafting, clergy and christians who are doing wonderful work and this cloud that sits there like a dark cloud every day because of the upper echelons failure to address safeguarding lands at our door when we are trying to take two steps forward we take five steps back because we are punished with the same brush

with those in far greater places than i am. i with those in far greater places than i am.- with those in far greater places than i am. i can hear our places than i am. i can hear your clear— places than i am. i can hear your clear frustration, - places than i am. i can hear your clear frustration, but l your clear frustration, but when you have over 100 boys and young men abused over many, many years and the top echelons of the church knowing about it from 2013, you have to ask the question, how can that happen? well, it is a joke, isn't it? let's be honest. i know you get a lot of well spoken people coming here, but the reality is at our cutting edge of our ministry we have very clear guidelines around safeguarding and i would like to think that myself and 99% of my colleagues fulfil those requirements. where we are faced with a safeguarding issue we call it out and pass it up the chain. at no point would i try and personally brush anything under the carpet, and that is one of the carpet, and that is one of the huge frustration is that there is an awful lot of great work going on in the church, but the media don't really want to hear that. you know, because

it is not of interest, really. what might give me your assessment in terms of the damage a story like this has done. well, iam damage a story like this has done. well, i am glad damage a story like this has done. well, iam glad it damage a story like this has done. well, i am glad it has come sooner rather than later, because i would not be surprised if this dragged out until the archbishop decided to retire. but i think it leaves lots of clouds. as clergy, i think we are right to ask the question is, where were the bishops? while i receive excellent pastoral care as an individual, the silence of bishops generally has been quite deafening, and i really applaud the courage of bishop helen—ann hartley who put her head above the parapet and spoke out, and i think we have a lot to thank her for. it is spoke out, and i think we have a lot to thank her for.- a lot to thank her for. it is a aood a lot to thank her for. it is a good question, _ a lot to thank her for. it is a good question, where - a lot to thank her for. it is a good question, where were | a lot to thank her for. it is a . good question, where were the bishops? because the house of bishops with the exception of the bishop of newcastle were pretty much silent after that

incredibly damning report last week. why do you think that is, and is that part of the culture that has to change, do you think? ., ~ that has to change, do you think? . ~ , ., think? yeah, i think it is. to be honest. _ think? yeah, i think it is. to be honest, i— think? yeah, i think it is. to be honest, i am _ think? yeah, i think it is. to be honest, i am a _ think? yeah, i think it is. to be honest, i am a member. think? yeah, | think it is. to. be honest, i am a member of general synod and in my first term of office, and even then you see this kind of superior hierarchy. the bishops sit at the front and the circle and part of me just wants to go and sit in the middle of them and see if anybody moves me on because i shouldn't be there. these are the quirky things and traditions of the church that are so entrenched in these ways of doing things it becomes almost paralysed by its capacity to do anything, and you see that in the wider sphere around discussions around safeguarding and matters of sexual identity as well. finally, what do you think should be done going forward for all of those victims? i was

listening to one and only last week listening to the archbishop of canterbury and his explanation, and last week justin welby said he was not going to resign for this. that particular phrase really offended that victim. in terms offended that victim. in terms of trying to make things right, what you think the church has to do? ~ ., , ., what you think the church has to do? ~ ., ,, ~ ., ., to do? well, do you know what? i think to do? well, do you know what? i think they _ to do? well, do you know what? i think they have _ to do? well, do you know what? i think they have to _ to do? well, do you know what? i think they have to stop - i think they have to stop saying sorry because victims are sick of people saying sorry. they want a response, they want a reaction. imagine if one of your loved ones or response had been a victim of abuse and you had heard a thousand saris and eventually they become completely hollow and meaningless but you want see action and response from people who are paid for those responsibilities. —— thousand sorreis. it makes the job for the average vicar and that those above us are being paid and what they should be doing. i was just laying out a few moments ago think a process of

the six months trying to appoint a successor. do you think you think should be added to that process to perhaps take on board many of the things, and the things that you are clearly concerned about into the processmake a new process, notjust the processmake a new process, not just the same the processmake a new process, notjust the same one that has perhaps perpetuated some these issues. ~ ., , issues. with the greatest resoeet. _ issues. with the greatest resoeet. trying _ issues. with the greatest respect, trying to - issues. with the greatest respect, trying to bring i issues. with the greatest respect, trying to bring a| issues. with the greatest - respect, trying to bring a new process into the church of england is like trying to turn a tanker around on the leeds liverpool canal, it is not going to happen. we are stuck with the processes that are there, we are first and foremost, i want to say this, we need to pray about what we do next and who should follow us next and who is going to lead us into a bright new dawn where we have confidence in our safeguarding structures at the very highest level. remembering that there are many wonderful people in our safeguarding organisations and dioceses up and down the country who must

feel like they have been kicked in the proverbial today, because of what has been happening in the higher church. thank you for talking to us. we will leave it there. but thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. earlier i spoke to the founding mission of the bishops council. she resigned from the general synod last year calling for the archbishop to resign over a separate issue. she explained to me a short while ago what that was.— ago what that was. well, i resigned _ ago what that was. well, i resigned from _ ago what that was. well, i resigned from the - ago what that was. well, i resigned from the sea - ago what that was. well, i resigned from the sea not| resigned from the sea not because of my concerns over the treatment of lgbt people. —— resigned from the synod. bishops have to work together and be silent often and not protect the vulnerable, and it is that unity of all costs we have seen over the last few days. no bishop, apart from the very brave bishop of newcastle, speaking out and saying what the rest of the general public,

parliament, and frankly the church have known, that the archbishop needed to step down. what we are seeing, i fear, or have seen over the year is the abuse of power by those in power and a really uncomfortable and unhealthy attitude to sex which has caused so many problems in so many areas, and indeed this horrific, horrific abuse that has now come to light, finally. this report was available five years ago and we have just sat on it. that is absolutely unacceptable.— on it. that is absolutely unacceptable. that is really interesting _ unacceptable. that is really interesting what _ unacceptable. that is really interesting what you - unacceptable. that is really i interesting what you described as your conclusions a year ago, because that, you say, chimes exactly with what we are seen playing out now. exactly with what we are seen playing out nova— playing out now. absolutely. there are — playing out now. absolutely. there are two _ playing out now. absolutely. there are two halves - playing out now. absolutely. there are two halves to - playing out now. absolutely. there are two halves to this. one is the impact on vulnerable people, on theologies or safeguarding issues, where we should be prioritising individuals who are at risk of

harm and yet we don't for the sake of the church. that is one issue. the other issue is to do with governments, power, and our inability to break ranks and speak out when we know that abuse is happening. and i resigned because i felt the archbishop was culpable in both those areas, but also all he seemed to do constantly was apologised and think that was enough for us to then go, ok, let's move on. that is exactly what he did on friday. hejust apologised and thought that was enough. apologised and thought that was enou:h. ~ ., , apologised and thought that was enou:h. ~ . , ., apologised and thought that was enouh.. ., , ., , enough. what is to stop... sorry to — enough. what is to stop... sorry to interrupt. - enough. what is to stop... sorry to interrupt. what i enough. what is to stop... sorry to interrupt. what is| enough. what is to stop... l sorry to interrupt. what is to stop over the next few weeks and months to go through a selection process, install a new archbishop, and do exactly what you have just described, which is a key figure saying let's just move on. we have had the apology, we have had the resignation, let's look forward. resignation, let's look forward-— resignation, let's look forward. ~ ~ ., resignation, let's look forward. ~ a, , ., resignation, let's look forward. ., forward. well, matthew, you are so riaht forward. well, matthew, you are so right which — forward. well, matthew, you are so right which is _ forward. well, matthew, you are so right which is what _ forward. well, matthew, you are so right which is what i _ forward. well, matthew, you are so right which is what i agreed i so right which is what i agreed with your previous speaker, this has to be a watershed moment for the church for us to

stop and reflect how we have got ourselves into such a mess. i think there are deep issues to do with structure, accountability, notjust on accountability, not just on safeguarding, accountability, notjust on safeguarding, but on holding bishops and archbishops to account. we don't have the checks and balances we need in our sin odd system, our government system for you. —— sin ten synod.. muzzling? you thinkthat _ sin ten synod.. muzzling? you think that is — sin ten synod.. muzzling? you think that is what _ sin ten synod.. muzzling? you think that is what is _ sin ten synod.. muzzling? you think that is what is going - sin ten synod.. muzzling? you think that is what is going on? j think that is what is going on? yes, of course. it has to be unity. no, we need moral and courageous leadership which is exactly what helen—ann hartley has modelled to us. the bible is very clear, if one wants to

talk about once a face about the need to do justly and act with mercy and love. but you have to stand up forjustice, and when you just work as a pack and go silent, that silence is deafening, particularly to survivors, like myself, to many others who have been through abuse, and we need to hear the clear and, i suppose, call for openness, transparency, honesty and accountability. matthew, this is just the tip of the iceberg. there are many other abuses that have been covered up, that have been left to one side for the good of the church. and i really hope that this is a time when everything can come into the light, where we can be honest about all our failings, and i hope therefore start to regain the trust and confidence of a public who i think years ago voted with their feet when it came to the church of

england. it it came to the church of england-— it came to the church of encland. , ., , england. it is not 'ust the ublic, england. it is not 'ust the public, there _ england. it is not 'ust the public, there are _ england. it is notjust the public, there are many, l england. it is notjust the - public, there are many, many, many victims with this case. how do you go about trying to actually have redress from all of those? because they have gone through many years of this. they watched them archbishop only last week saying he was not going to resign. how does the church move forward in terms of them? well, it has to be with action and notjust words. we have had far too many words and hand—wringing. we have been looking at how we deal with survivors of abuse and redress issues for years and it is taking years for them to see justice done, that is payments for help and support, mental health support, actual redress for the harm that has been caused, and it is gone between the lawyers now and insurance brokers, and it is treated in such, in my mind, an ungodly way. we have to put, literally,

our money where our mouth is. we have had speeches in synod about how money will never be an issue, but survivors have never got to see it, and i really hope that we will start outputting survivors front and centre. you know, the last couple of years we have tried, archbishopjustin has talked about trying to drive through various reforms, and yet the boards, the chair of the boards we put together resigned in protest at the way the archbishop's council interacted with them over safeguarding. we must have an independent safeguarding group now who will take this away from the church and deal with it properly once and deal with it properly once and for all. and deal with it properly once and for all-— and for all. she telling me that she — and for all. she telling me that she resigned - and for all. she telling me that she resigned from - and for all. she telling me| that she resigned from the general synod last year. let me show you love pictures of lambeth palace, because that is the scene there. it has been a hectic last couple of hours

since the news of that resignation broke. just word from the uk prime minister's spokesman saying that the prime minister respected the decision of the archbishop of canterbury. and of course, we now enter a phase of finding a replacement, that is expected to last four months, even six months as they start that long process. we are keeping an eye on that situation, we will bring you more reaction here on the programme. let me show you love pictures from washington as well, because we are keeping an eye on that scene there that is the white house, because in the next few minutes, we are expecting israel's president to meet with joe expecting israel's president to meet withjoe biden. he was only praising joe biden and vice president kamala harris yesterday at a gathering there, but he will meet the president in the next few minutes. we will show you the pictures and any commentsjust as will show you the pictures and any comments just as soon as that happens. around the world and across the uk, you are

watching bbc news.

you are watching bbc news, do stay with this, we will have plenty of news after the announcement of the resignation of the archbishop of canterbury. but for the next few minutes, let's turn to other important stories that is happening, because the world has been one that is facing the final countdown to limit global temperature rises. that was the stark assessment of the un secretary—general at the cop29 climate change conferencerence in baku. it's a conference, marked in part by those who are not there. some of the most powerful and polluting economies are absent. nojoe biden, xijinping, narendra modi, olaf scholz and emmanuel macron in the traditional family photo. sir keir starmer is at the conference and has pledged to cut the uk's carbon emissions by 81% by 2035, compared to levels from 1990 — saying the uk would lead the way in tackling climate change. alex forsyth reports.

at this climate gathering the messages are everywhere you look. warnings about global consequences without action. the uk is keen to make its presence felt. keir starmer is one of the world leaders who has turned up, wanting to show he is serious when it comes to climate change. he announced ambitious new targets to cut emissions, then claimed tackling this issue could bring opportunity. it's very important for the united kingdom to show leadership on the climate challenge. it's a very important challenge of our time. it's also, i have long believed, the single biggest opportunity for the next generation ofjobs. you don't have to look far to see why it's a concern — from the recent devastation in valencia, to floods in sudan, fears about the impact of extreme weather. and for some, the promises made simply aren't enough. these summits are all about getting international agreement and they often result in high—level targets or ambitious goals. speak to many people here and they will tell you what really matters is not

setting the targets, it is meeting them. and there are plenty who think that has become harder with donald trump, a known climate change sceptic, heading to the white house. keir starmer has repeatedly refused to be drawn on the incoming president's views on climate change, preferring instead to set out his own. there is no national security, there is no economic security, there is no global security, without climate security. you set out this ambitious target on emissions but you have not really set out how you are going to get there. what is this going to mean? what we're not going to do is start telling people how to live their lives. we are not going to start dictating to people what they do. but we are going to be clear that that involves hitting the clean power 2030 mission that we have set out, one of the five big projects of the government. one man who knows about negotiating over climate change is this former president of the cop climate conference. i think you have to

bring people with you. and certainly as a conservative i believe in choice and people should get to decide. so if you want people to drive electric vehicles, if you want them to have heat pumps, you need to provide those incentives to them. i think it has to be ambitious but also deliverable. and for some that means the government going further. they are being bold - and ambitious in this target but it's not enough. we need to see how it is i going to be implemented. and there is a lot of work to do in the uk in terms. of transitioning awayl from fossil fuels still. so, conversations had, commitments made, but it is the consequence of what is decided here that really counts. alex forsyth, bbc news, baku. washington has told israel it is not doing enough to address

the humanitarian crisis. last month in a strongly worded letter, the secretary of state gave israel 30 days to comply. the us wanted 350 trucks a day going into gaza, but the reality is over the last month, there has been an average of 30 trucks per day, just over 6% of the daily needs. the united nations aid agency in gaza it says nothing has improved and the world health organization so some people in gaza are facing famine. meanwhile, the israeli military has carried out at least 10 air strikes on beirut�*s southern suburbs — in an area where the lebanese militant and political group hezbollah is based. the attacks followed evacuation orders issued by the israeli military for at least 11 buildings — warning residents to stay away from buildings it said where hezbollah facilities. plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the locations hit, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. it's the first israeli strike on beirut for three days. on monday, israel struck a town in the far north of lebanon,

killing at least eight people. stay with us here on bbc news, we will have plenty more reaction to the main news on the resignation of the archbishop of canterbury. those of the pictures from lambeth palace. in the last little while, the british prime minister's spokesman saying he respected the decision of the archbishop of canterbury but went on to say that his thoughts first and foremost remain with all the victims. more on that in the next few minutes. also coming up on bbc news, we will have the very latest business news for you. hello. the next few days are looking largely dry, but it won't always be particularly sunny. today, we've seen lingering fog across parts of western scotland and northern ireland, and i think the next few days will bring more of the same — often grey, often murky. some areas of fog, that fog lingering throughout the afternoon

across some parts of northern ireland, western scotland. a few showers across the southeast of england and the channel islands. quite breezy here as well. temperatures, as we end the afternoon, generally between 9 and 13 degrees. now, as we head through this evening and tonight, those showers in the southeast corner i think will become mostly confined to the channel islands, where it will stay quite breezy. fog reforming across parts of wales, northern england, southwest scotland and perhaps most especially across northern ireland, where the skies remain clear. it's going to be another chilly night. temperatures for some could drop just below freezing, but milder towards the northwest of scotland because here we'll see a lot of cloud courtesy of this weather front. a very weak weather front running into our area of high pressure, so not much more than a band of cloud and a few spots of rain sinking southwards across scotland into northern ireland. after a murky start in northern ireland, i think it will turn into a pretty grey day. that cloud extending into northwest england,

parts of wales, the midlands. further south, some spells of sunshine. i think the showers tending to ease from the channel islands. temperatures for the most part around ten to 13 degrees. for thursday, we'll see some large areas of cloud. it'll be a bit misty and murky in places. could be some spots of drizzle. equally some sunny spells. temperatures again around 10, 11—12 degrees for most of us. and on friday things do look similar. once again, some sunny spells, yes, but large amounts of cloud. but it will be turning increasingly windy across the north of scotland, with a slightly more active weather front pushing into the picture. some outbreaks of rain with that, and that front will sink its way southwards and eastwards as we head into the start of the weekend. it then looks like we'll develop an area of low pressure, so things will be turning more unsettled as we head through the weekend. and then into the start of next week, well, it looks like things will turn quite a lot colder from the north. there could be in some places

some wintry showers.

climate ruling overturned — the oil giant shell wins a landmark case which would have forced it to almost halve its carbon emissions. the spiralling cost of climate change. businesses warn of 2 trillion dollars in losses over the past decade

at the cop29 climate summit. plus riding a wave of euphoria — bitcoin approaches 90,000 dollars for the first time as investors bet on crypto friendly trump administration. welcome to business today. the oil giant shell has won a landmark appeal in a dutch court, which overturns an earlier ruling — that required it to cut its carbon emissions by 45%. the court in the hague said that shell is required to reduce its carbon emissions but it cannot order it to do so by a precise amount. our correspondent, anna holligan was following the case in the hague. iam inside i am inside the appeals court in the hague and this is the latest twist in a precedent—setting case that could have far—reaching applications for global climate

litigation but