In a purpose-built garden shed at his home in Winchester, Smyth administered sadistic beatings to his victims until they bled. When his criminal abuse was first revealed to church leaders in 1982, Smyth was hustled out of the country to Zimbabwe there he is set up his own network of Christian camps were at least 90 children were abused and one died.
And the Eye reveals that Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, was one of those who funded Smyth's religious camps in Zimbabwe, even though "he had been warned he was up to no good".
As a young man, Welby helped at the Iwerne Trust's camps in the UK, and Smyth was a leading light of the organisation.
This link between them appears to have stymied the Church of England's efforts to investigate Smyth's activities. The church has now apologised 15 times for delays to the inquiry.
Four of Christ's disciples were fishermen, but to get invited to a Iwerne Trust camp you had to be a pupil at an exclusive public school. It makes you wonder if wealthy evangelicals hope there will be a separate heaven for the privately educated.
Anyway, the best guide to the Smyth affair is Bleeding For Jesus: John Smyth and the cult of the Iwerne Camps by Andrew Graystone.
The Titus Trust, successor to the Iwerne Trust, still exists. It describes itself as existing to "run Christian activity holidays for students at independent schools, giving them the chance to enjoy kayaking, climbing, go-karting, sailing, laser clay pigeon shooting and a whole host of other activities and fun games, whilst also hearing about the Christian faith." (https://www.titustrust.org/) There must be tens of thousands of Christians in Britain who are involved in supporting food banks, and work supporting prisoners and refugees. In comparison, the Titus Trust seems obscene.
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