Latest news with #Lambeth
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Justin Welby says review that led to resignation as archbishop was partly wrong
Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has publicly challenged the findings of an independent review that led to his resignation, asserting it was "wrong" in its conclusion that he could have reported prolific abuser John Smyth sooner. Mr Welby, who officially stepped down in early January after resigning in November last year, faced scrutiny from a review led by Keith Makin. This independent inquiry concluded that he "had not done enough to deal with allegations of abuse by Christian camp leader Smyth". The report said Smyth 'could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013'. During an interview which took place at the Cambridge Union in May, Mr Welby denied having learned the full extent of Smyth's abuse until 2017. 'Makin is wrong in that,' Mr Welby said during the event. 'Not deliberately, but he didn't see a bit of evidence that subsequently came out after his report and after my resignation. 'The bit of evidence was his emails from Lambeth to Ely and from Ely letters to South Africa, where Smyth was living, and letters to the police in which the reporting was fully given to the police, and the police asked the church not to carry out its own investigations because it would interfere with theirs. 'Now I had checked, and I was told the police had been informed.' Over five decades between the 1970s until his death, John Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives. Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was 'never brought to justice for the abuse', the Makin Review said. Asked at the event why he did not report John Smyth in 2013 when he first heard of allegations made against him, Mr Welby said: 'First of all, I first knew of John Smyth's abuse in 2013 at the beginning of August, when one person in Cambridge disclosed to the diocesan safeguarding advisor that they had been abused. 'A few days later, I had a report through my chaplain who had been rung up from the Diocese of Ely, which Cambridge is in, saying … there was an allegation of abuse by one person. 'I didn't know the full details of the abuse until 2017 – that is clearly in the report … 'And it wasn't until about 2021, in a meeting with Keith Makin, that I discovered there were more than 100 people who had been physically abused. 'I disagree with the report on that … it's not truth. 'Secondly, I certainly didn't know about anything in Zimbabwe for the same period, and that emerged steadily as well.' Mr Welby added that, in 2013, he only knew of one person alleging they had been abused by Smyth, and that he was in the midst of dealing with other prominent cases of sexual abuse within the Church. Mr Welby said: 'I was dealing at the time with Peter Ball, the bishop of Gloucester, where we knew there were at least 30 victims, and he was going to prison, obviously, and one of those victims had committed suicide. 'That was among many cases that were coming out, and they were obviously getting my attention. 'I was focusing my attention on making sure it didn't happen again. 'I don't apologise for that. 'The worst of all possible things would have been to say, we're not going to change the system sufficiently to reduce the chances of such appalling events with such lifelong damage to survivors happening again.' The former archbishop, however, acknowledged he was 'insufficiently persistent' in bringing Smyth to justice while he was still alive – which ultimately compelled him to step down from his role as archbishop of Canterbury. Mr Welby also said he was seeing a psychotherapist with whom he has been discussing the time of his resignation, which he described as 'one of the loneliest moments I've ever had'. Asked about what he would have done differently, Mr Welby replied: 'I have thought a great deal about that. 'One must be very careful about making it sound as though it was all about me. It's really not. 'There will be people here who've been abused, who are the victims of abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse, emotional abuse, and I've been very open that I'm one of them, so I'm aware of what it means. 'There were two reasons it was right to resign. 'One was, although I thought I had done at the time everything I should have done, I hadn't. 'It had been reported to the police, the first signs of the abuse … and it was reported to Cambridgeshire Police and then to Hampshire Police, where he (Smyth) lived at the time. 'But I was insufficiently persistent and curious to follow up and check and check and check that action was being taken. 'And I felt that that had re-traumatised the survivors.' Mr Welby added: 'The other point was shame, because in my role, it wasn't only the Smyth case (in) the whole time I've been in post as archbishop for 12 years. 'There were more and more cases (that) emerged, very few from the present day, but going right back to the 60s and the 70s – 50, 60 years. 'And I'm sure we have not uncovered all of them, and I'm sure it goes further back than that. 'And there's one area the psychotherapist I have been seeing has helped me understand better, is: one develops an idealisation of an organisation, particularly the Church, and the sense of its failure made me feel that the only proper thing to do was to take responsibility as the current head of that organisation. 'It's one of the loneliest moments I've ever had, the reverberations of that I still feel. 'But I can persuade myself I could have done other things. I could have taken on the interviewers more strongly.' The process to replace Mr Welby is under way. It is expected there could be an announcement on a nomination for the 106th archbishop of Canterbury by autumn – a year after Mr Welby announced he was standing down.
CTV News
6 days ago
- CTV News
Community in mourning after boy struck by vehicle while getting off school bus dies
The community is mourning after a young boy who was hit by a driver earlier this week has died. CTV London's Bryan Bicknell reports. The Lambeth and area community is in mourning after learning a young boy passed away after being struck by a vehicle while getting off his school bus Monday afternoon. 'Dante was a joyful radiant child that brought joy to everyone around him,' reads his obituary on the O'Neil Funeral Home web page Dante Adriano Caranci, 7, was the son of Stefano and Jacqueline Caranci, and brother to Vincenzo. A member of Lambeth Lancers Minor Hockey, the association said in a social media post, 'Dante was a proud member of our U9MD2 team and will be greatly missed.' It also urged supporters to put their hockey sticks outside their front door to show support for Dante's family. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Delaware. The London District Catholic School Board chose not to issue a statement, citing respect for the family's wish for privacy. However, there has been no shortage of condolence messages from within the school community. Emily Jane posted on Facebook, 'The LDCSB is a tight-knit community, and colleagues, students, and families have all been reeling from this devastating news. In the coming days and weeks, please keep all of those impacted and heartbroken by this tragic loss in your prayers.' Ashley Marie posted to Facebook that her heart is broken for the Caranci family. 'Dante's smile will be greatly missed in our classroom,' she wrote. According to London police, shortly after 4:00 Monday afternoon, emergency crews responded to a serious collision involving a pedestrian at Longwoods Road and Murray Road in southwest London. All drivers remained at the scene. Caranci, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. He died the next day. 'You know with any fatal motor vehicle collision, that takes its toll on not only the families that are involved, and the communities that surrounds those families, but also on emergency personnel,' explained London Police Const. Matt Dawson. 'And you know in this unfortunate circumstance, it's no different, our thoughts are with the family and the community that surrounds that family, as well as all emergency personnel in the situation,' he added. Police have released few details about the crash at this time, and Dawson says the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with dashcam or security video from the area of Longwoods Road and Murray Road at the time of the crash is asked to contact police at (519) 661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Visitation for Dante takes place at O'Neil Funeral Home, 350 William St., London on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Visitors are being asked to wear their hockey jerseys for Dante. The funeral service take place Saturday. An online fundraiser has also been established for the Caranci family.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- BBC News
Dementia patient's fees deemed 'unfair' and must be repaid by council
A council in south London has been found to have unfairly charged a man with dementia nearly £6,500 in interest and legal fees when he failed to reply to requests for payment of his Council has been told by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman that it must improve its working practices after failing to consider the man had dementia, before he passed council has also been ordered to apologise to the man's daughter and pay back the fees as well as an additional £300 for the distress caused.A spokesperson for the council said they fully accept the findings and had acted on the ombudsman's recommendations. The ombudsman said the council had failed to communicate with the man, called Mr Y in its report, about the charges for his care until late 2022, by which time there was a "significant" debt worth £32,813.32. The council said it did not have a policy on charging interest and legal fees on overdue charges for adult social care, and that it referred debts to solicitors to progress debt recovery on its ombudsman's investigation concluded the actions of both the council and the solicitors were at fault and recommended introducing policies and procedures on charging these costs when it comes to unpaid care charges.A spokesperson for Lambeth Council said it was committed to providing the "best service possible for all of its residents" and that it worked hard to resolve problems quickly and fairly whenever they arose."We are determined to learn from this and improve how we communicate with residents about care charges. "We regret that our service fell short in this case and remain committed to working with residents and the ombudsman to improve our services going forward."
The Sun
17-06-2025
- The Sun
Who was Bulic Forsythe and how was the Lambeth Council employee murdered?
A COUNCIL worker was murdered suspiciously back in 1993 after he reportedly spoke to colleagues about a suspected paedophile ring. Here's everything you need to know about the horrific killing of Bulic Forsythe, which is featured in an episode of C4's In the Footsteps of Killers. 2 Who was Bulic Forsythe? Bulic Forsythe was a senior manager in the housing department of Lambeth Council in south London, respected for his professionalism and commitment to his work. At the time of his death in February 1993, he was responsible for building management within the council. In the days leading up to his death, Bulic reportedly confided in a colleague that he had discovered evidence of a paedophile ring operating within Lambeth Council properties and was considering going public with the information. A report published in July 2021 by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that Lambeth Council staff failed children in care and foster homes repeatedly from the 1960s. Over a 40-year period, more than 700 children in the borough suffered sadistic sexual abuse. Per Wandsworth Guardian, a police report into Bulic's death states: "The murder of Mr Forsythe remains unsolved. "It was the subject of a recent review by the Metropolitan Police Service (Operation Redsnow), as a result of concerns that there was a connection between Mr Forsythe's employment at Lambeth Council and his murder, but no evidence of such a connection was found. "At the very least, the murder of Mr Forsythe is likely to have caused concern and fear on the part of staff and councillors." In 2015, Sky News reported how Bulic might have discovered that council property was being used to carry out this abhorrent abuse. How was Bulic Forsythe murdered? Bulic was killed in a suspicious manner — on February 26, 1993, his flat was set alight. His body was subsequently discovered inside, with a post-mortem revealing his skull was fractured before the fire was started — indicating he was beaten to death prior to the arson attack. Witnesses reported seeing three men leaving Bulic's flat carrying bags of documents and files shortly before the fire. A witness who lived nearby and appeared on the BBC's Crimewatch said: "I was going over to the paper shop to buy a paper and I saw three men coming out of Foster Court around the front. "They were carrying briefcases and some folders in their hands. Why I noticed them was because they looked official and I've never saw them here before." Internal Lambeth Council reports and later investigations suggest that his murder may have been linked to his knowledge of, and intention to expose, a paedophile ring involving senior council staff. These reports detailed shocking allegations of sexual abuse, including the use of council premises for the rape of women and children by senior officials. Bulic was said to have told a colleague he was going to "spill the beans" about what he had discovered Despite these serious allegations, the findings were not formally investigated by police at the time, with the case remaining unsolved. The murder caused widespread fear among council staff, as it was seen as a warning to anyone who might ask too many questions or attempt to expose wrongdoing within the council. In the Footsteps of Killers A new investigation into the murder of Bulic Forsythe is featured in an episode of Channel 4's In the Footsteps of Killers. Presented by Emilia Fox and leading criminologist Professor David Wilson, the show examines the circumstances around his death and the allegations of abuse within Lambeth Council. Aiming to shed new light on one of London's most disturbing unsolved murders, the doc explores whether Bulic was killed because he was about to expose a network of abuse and corruption within Lambeth Council. You can catch the episode of In the Footsteps of Killers featuring the murder of Bulic Forsythe at 10pm on Channel 4 on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
Times
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Labour councillor urged to resign for ‘lying to judge about LTN'
The deputy leader of a Labour council is facing calls to resign after being accused of lying in a witness statement to the High Court over a low-traffic neighbourhood. Rezina Chowdhury, the cabinet member for sustainability at Lambeth, is facing claims she misled the judge in her defence of the West Dulwich low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN). She is also facing claims that her behaviour relating to the traffic-relocation scheme broke the council's code of conduct. This month the court battle over the LTN in south London came to national attention when Justice Tim Smith ordered Lambeth to remove the scheme after ruling it had been implemented unlawfully. It was the first time that a court had ordered a council to remove an LTN. The judge concluded that the council's dismissive approach to locals, including failing to consider a dossier of evidence they presented that highlighted potential problems with the scheme, amounted to a 'serious failing'. During the case, court documents revealed that Chowdhury, who is also a member of Labour's National Policy Forum, ignored five emails and two recorded-delivery letters sent by Jonathan Fowles, a resident. His correspondence was asking to meet to discuss data analysis he had conducted, indicating that the proposed LTN risked increasing accidents and pollution. After receiving no reply, Fowles, who is a member of the West Dulwich Action Group, which brought the case against Lambeth, attended Chowdhury's drop-in surgery to try to speak to her in person. A recording of the meeting shows that when challenged, Chowdhury's immediate reply was that she had ignored Fowles because she believed he was against LTNs and acting in bad faith. Yet Chowdhury's witness statement to the court states: 'I do not consider that there has been at any point a 'refusal to engage with those who might be critical of what the council was proposing'.' On the specific meeting with Fowles, she adds: 'At no point did I say the words 'anti-LTN' nor suggest this was the reason for not continuing to correspond with Mr Fowles. At no point during the surgery did I say anything to the effect that 'my previous refusals to engage with West Dulwich Action Group were because the correspondence had been anti-LTN'.' The recording of the meeting reveals she said: 'The issue why I haven't responded to you is that in your emails you said that you didn't have a position on LTNs either way, but then I went back a couple of years and noticed you sent me an email where you were against LTNs so that was a red flag and if I'm honest I just thought, well, I didn't think you were being completely honest with me and that's why I resisted.' Fowles denies that he sent any such email and when Chowdhury was given the opportunity to share the email with both the court and The Times, she did not. • Is Britain finally on the road to zero emissions? Fowles also denies that he was ever against LTNs but says that even if he was, it should not have disqualified him from correspondence or meeting the councillor. Making false claims in a witness statement is contempt of court if it was done knowingly. If someone is found in contempt, the court can impose a prison term of up to two years or an unlimited fine. The Times understands that Chowdhury was aware that her conversation with Fowles was being recorded. The council's legal team were also given Fowles's witness statement before the case was heard, which included a transcript of what was said at the meeting, but Chowdhury still chose not to submit a new statement to clarify the record. The judge's ruling acknowledges a 'factual dispute' over what was said at the meeting but states that it was 'unnecessary to resolve' because it was irrelevant to the outcome of the case. However, Fowles wants Chowdhury held to account. He believes the deputy leader's conduct breaches Lambeth's code of conduct, which says councillors must maintain an open mind towards those who hold a different view and deal with their representations 'fairly, appropriately and impartially'. • Uninsured learner driver fled after killing woman in head-on crash He said: 'Rezina Chowdhury should resign. I was never against LTNs and just wanted to correspond with her as a concerned resident but she did her best to avoid meeting me simply because she thought I held a different opinion to her own. 'In my view, that alone should be grounds for her sacking because it breaches Lambeth's code of conduct but her appalling behaviour did not stop there. Her witness statement denies saying what she did in fact say to me and in doing this, she is effectively accusing me of lying in my statement. But the recording clearly shows that she is the one who is lying. 'To lie to the court is unacceptable behaviour for anyone, let alone an elected representative and she should do the decent thing and step down.' Chowdhury declined to answer a series of questions posed by The Times but said in a statement: 'My statement to the High Court is as I recall.' She added: 'We implemented the West Dulwich Street Improvements to reduce road danger and create a neighbourhood where residents can live safer, happier and healthier lives. We engaged widely with residents, community organisations and businesses as part of this process.' Lambeth council said: 'We have a complaints process, and anyone is able to use that process if they believe they have evidence of a breach of the council's members code of conduct.' The 57-year old Labour politician was appointed Lambeth's cabinet member for 'sustainable Lambeth and clean air' in 2022, making her responsible for the borough's LTNs and other climate initiatives. Her previous professional experience was working for polling and research companies and Public Health England, having graduated in race and ethnic relations at Birkbeck, University of London. She owns a home worth more than £1 million within one of Lambeth's recently introduced LTNs. In an interview last year, Chowdhury admitted that she did not like 'getting bogged down in lengthy' consultations but critics say her failure to consider the views of residents has proved costly for local taxpayers. • Car parking spaces may get bigger to ease squeeze The High Court's ruling that the West Dulwich LTN was unlawful is the second time in less than a year that one of Lambeth's LTNs has had to be removed. Last year, the borough was forced to withdraw the Streatham Wells LTN under pressure from Sir Sadiq Khan before the London mayor election after it caused such delays on one of the main routes out of south London that local buses were taking two hours to travel three miles. The introduction and then removal of these two LTNs, including the legal battle the council fought against residents, has cost local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds. Residents who have met Chowdhury on constituency matters say that she can be sympathetic and personable. However, those who have met her to raise concerns about LTNs say she is 'dismissive' and 'arrogant'. Critics believe Chowdhury's obsession with LTNs is clouding her judgment. Last month she retweeted an abusive attack on a group of volunteers who were sacrificing their spare time to repair a children's paddling pool in the borough. The Streatham Action group put up a post thanking volunteers for their time but another X user took this as an opportunity to attack the group, accusing them of being a 'load of wealthy white nimbys in massive houses tutting about not being able to drive their cars recklessly with 20mph limits, LTNs, and shock-horror cycle lanes'. Chowdhury retweeted the post and only removed it after a backlash. When approached by The Times to explain her actions, she declined to comment. After the Streatham Wells and West Dulwich LTN incidents, the Lambeth Conservatives and the Lambeth Liberal Democrats are now calling on Chowdhury to go. However, so far, there has been no indication that she plans to do so, refusing even to issue an apology for hers or the council's mistakes.
