John Smyth (barrister)

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John Smyth

QC
Born
John Jackson Smyth

(1941-06-27)27 June 1941
Died11 August 2018(2018-08-11) (aged 77)
Cape Town, South Africa
Alma materTrinity Hall, Cambridge
OccupationBarrister
Spouse(s)Josephine Anne Leggott
Children4

John Jackson Smyth, QC (27 June 1941 – 11 August 2018) was a British barrister and a recorder. Active as a Christian educator, many complainants have alleged that he carried out sadomasochistic beatings against those in his sole or joint care in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] Among the complainants is Anglican Bishop Andrew Watson. Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984 then settled in South Africa.

Biography[]

Educated at Strathcona School, Calgary; Trinity Hall, Cambridge; and Trinity College, Bristol;[2] he was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1965 and took silk in 1979. He was a recorder (with the powers of a circuit judge able to sit in the Crown Court, the County Court or the Family Court) from 1978 to 1984.

In July 1977, Smyth acted for Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse in her successful private prosecution for blasphemy (Whitehouse v Lemon) at the Old Bailey against the newspaper Gay News and its editor, Denis Lemon, over the publication of James Kirkup's poem The Love that Dares to Speak its Name.[3] He also initially acted for Whitehouse in her failed prosecution of the National Theatre production of Howard Brenton's play The Romans in Britain in 1980 but withdrew from the case through illness.[1]

He was chairman of the Iwerne Trust between 1974 and 1981. This organisation raised funds for evangelical Christian holiday camps that had been founded by Eric "Bash" Nash for public school pupils, at the time run by Scripture Union,[4] and in which Smyth was a leader.[5][6]

Smyth moved to Zimbabwe in 1984, where in 1986 he set up mission Zambesi Ministries, which held summer camps for boys from the country's leading schools. He was arrested in 1997 in the investigation into the drowning of Guide Nyachuru, a 16-year-old adolescent, at the Marondera camp. Nyachuru's unclothed body was found at Ruzawi School pool in December 1992. Smyth always said that his death was an accident.[7] The possibility of culpable homicide was after a long investigation ruled as unlikely, but raised doubts about his behaviour towards boys in his care.[7][8] He then moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where he ran the Justice Alliance of South Africa (JASA) for some years. JASA describes itself as "a coalition of corporations‚ individuals and churches committed to upholding and fighting for justice and the highest moral standards in South African society".[9]

Smyth represented South Africa's Doctors for Life,[10] and, as an amicus curiae of the Constitutional Court in May 2005, unsuccessfully opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage in South Africa.[7] Smyth claimed that to introduce same-sex marriage, would result in "violence to the mind and spirit" of the religiously devout and would discriminate against them.[11]

It emerged on 3 February 2017 that the board of the Alliance had asked Smyth to immediately stand down as the head of the organisation. His standing-down was described as temporary, but his return was not thought likely.[12]

Smyth died on 11 August 2018 at his home in Cape Town. Per a statement from his family: "The official cause of death has not yet been made known, but the indicators are that it was a sudden heart attack following a heart procedure earlier in the week."[13]

Abuse allegations[]

A secret report from the Iwerne Trust in 1982, compiled by Mark Ruston of the Round Church Cambridge and David Fletcher of the Scripture Union, referred to "horrific" beatings of teenage boys, who sometimes suffered bleeding.[14][15] Winchester College, with its pupils among alleged victims, was informed about the alleged beatings but both the college and the trust failed to inform the police about Smyth. The headmaster asked Smyth to keep away from the college and not to contact its pupils.[16]

In early February 2017, Channel 4 News in the UK broadcast a report on Smyth's alleged violent physical abuse of young men. He was challenged by reporter Cathy Newman, while on a Christmas and New Year visit to friends in Bristol, England.[17] Smyth commented that he was "not talking about what we did at all" and said some of the claims were "nonsense".[18]

Shortly after the report the Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson in writing stated Smyth once gave him a "violent, excruciating and shocking" beating as a young man.[19][20]

After the allegation became better known in 2017, Graham Tilby, national safeguarding adviser for the Church of England, said: "Clearly, more could have been done at the time to look further into the case."[16] Smyth was excommunicated from the Church-on-Main in Cape Town after church leaders said he refused to return to the UK and engage with police.[21]

In June 2020, the Church of England removed final diocesan permission to officiate from George Carey, a former archbishop of Canterbury, having found of him procedural failings, either in his reviewing or not having reviewed by other bodies some of the old allegations against Smyth.[22] Permission was restored to Carey by the Bishop of Oxford seven months later.[23]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Laville, Sandra (2 February 2017). "John Smyth: the go-to barrister for Mary Whitehouse". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  2. ^ ‘SMYTH, John Jackson’, Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017
  3. ^ Humphreys, Brett (2002). "The Law that Dared to Lay the Blame..." Gay and Lesbian Humanist. Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
  4. ^ "Scripture Union criticised for silence about John Smyth". Church Times. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. ^ Foster, Patrick; Harley, Nicola; Willgress, Lydia (2 February 2017). "Archbishop of Canterbury issues 'unreserved and unequivocal' apology after links to 'child abuser' emerge". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Archbishop of Canterbury sorry over charity abuse claims". BBC News. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Tolsi, Niren (2 February 2017). "Christian crusader in teen abuse scandal". Mail & Guardian. Johannesburg. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  8. ^ Foster, Patrick; Harley, Nicola; Thornycroft, Peta (2 February 2017). "Archbishop of Canterbury's 'delightful' friend accused of killing teenager in Zimbabwe". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ^ Chambers, Dave (2 February 2017). "Top SA legal campaigner abused boys for decades in UK' says documentary". Times Live. Johannesburg. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  10. ^ "JASA Executive Board". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016.
  11. ^ Evans, Jenni (18 May 2005). "Homosexuality against the Bible, court hears". IOL/Independent Online. South Africa. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  12. ^ Chambers, Dave (3 February 2017). "Justice Alliance head gets the boot after child abuse allegations". Times Live. Johannesburg. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  13. ^ BBC radio news report, 12 August 2018
  14. ^ (PDF) http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/970485/27843482/1519929269713/The+Ruston+Report+on+John+Smyth+1993.pdf?token=b5ZM1XU9leAUV05%2BfBelEJFZCiE%3D. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ Davies, Madeleine (21 August 2021). "Titus Trust: 'This is what we knew of John Smyth's abuse, and when we knew it'". Church Times. Retrieved 21 August 2021. The contents of the Ruston report were not news to another Titus Trust trustee, the Revd David Fletcher, who, as the Scripture Union employee responsible for running the Iwerne camps, had worked with Mr Ruston to compile the report before confronting Smyth in 1982.
  16. ^ a b correspondent, Harriet Sherwood Religion (August 12, 2018). "Lawyer accused of beating boys at Christian camps dies" – via www.theguardian.com.
  17. ^ Newman, Cathy (2 February 2017). "How Channel 4 News revealed claims of savage abuse by Archbishop's friend". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  18. ^ Newman, Cathy (1 February 2017). "Archbishop admits Church 'failed terribly' over abuse revelations". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Statement from Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson". Church of England. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 Feb 2017.
  20. ^ Sherwood, Harriet (6 February 2017). "C of E bishop: I was subject of 'excruciating' beating by John Smyth". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  21. ^ Rudgard, Olivia (24 June 2017). "John Smyth excommunicated from South African church". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  22. ^ "George Carey: Former archbishop suspended over abuse inquiry". BBC News. 18 June 2020.
  23. ^ "George Carey: Ex-archbishop allowed to be minister again". Retrieved 5 May 2021.
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