THE disgraced outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday apologised over a “disgusting” farewell speech delivered in the House of Lords.

Justin Welby said he was “sorry” after his final speech to Parliament on Thursday sparked fury for making light of the safeguarding scandal engulfing the Church of England.

Distraught abuse victims described feeling “dismayed” and “disgusted” that Mr Welby’s speech made no mention of survivors and instead struck a “frivolous” tone, filled with jokes.

On Friday the scandal-ridden Archbishop said: “I would like to apologise wholeheartedly for the hurt that my speech has caused.

“I understand that my words – the things that I said, and those I omitted to say – have caused further distress for those who were traumatised, and continue to be harmed, by John Smyth’s heinous abuse, and by the far-reaching effects of other perpetrators of abuse.

“It did not intend to overlook the experience of survivors or to make light of the situation – and I am very sorry for having done so.”

Mr Welby announced he would quit as Archbishop of Canterbury after an independent probe found he didn’t do enough to raise alarms about serial abuser John Smyth, who worked at Christian summer camps.

In parliament the peer had been an outspoken critic against Boris Johnson’s Rwanda deportation scheme and sparked fury for constantly intervening to argue for weaker protections against small boat arrivals.

In his speech on Thursday Mr Welby said: “The reality is that there comes a time if you are technically 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 case, one head that rolls well enough.”

Mark Stibbe, who was groomed and beaten by Smyth in the 1970s, told the BBC: “I object to the use of such a frivolous tone in such a serious matter – a matter that has been, and continues to be, a matter of life and death to some.”

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