John Smyth was Chairman of the Iwerne camps from 1974 until 1982 – Christian youth holidays for public school boys, aiming to teach and grow them in the Christian faith.

Mr Smyth was accused of beating boys and was confronted by members of the Iwerne Trust board with allegations of serious physical abuse and current evidence suggests that after an internal investigation in 1982 he was encouraged to work abroad.

He was on the point of facing extradition to the UK from South Africa to be interviewed by Hampshire Police when he suffered a heart attack and died on 11 August 2018.

Keith Makin, a former director of social services with 30 years’ experience, will lead the independent ‘lessons learnt’ review which will consider the response of the Church of England and its officers to the allegations against John Smyth.

Mr Makin has led on serious case reviews and has chaired several local safeguarding partnerships.

The review will also consider the response of other organisations involved; Winchester College, the Titus Trust, and the Scripture Union, to the extent that those organisations are willing to co-operate.

It will allow survivors of John Smyth and who have given an account to the Church of England to describe their experiences and identify both good practice and failings in the Church’s handling of the allegations.

The Church of England’s lead safeguarding bishop,…

Andrew Watson and Jo Bailey Wells have joined forces with other organisations in Surrey to declare a climate emergency and say they will do all they can to help the situation.

The lifestyle changes include, switching to a clean energy provider, using cars less and cutting down on meat consumption.

Speaking to Premier about the urgency of the situation, Bishop Jo said: “It’s a topic that’s been floating around in the ether for years and years and years and it’s absolutely clear that we’re not doing enough fast enough.

“It seems to me that all of us together have to work for the solution.

“People in leadership have to be making a noise about it and clearly making a sacrifice in relation to it.”

Other commitments include growing your own fruit and veg, reusing plastic bags and using heating sparingly.

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15 year old Nora Quoirin attended St Bede’s Catholic Church in Clapham Park.

The priest Father Marcus Holden asked for prayers for the family last week and the church held vigils and opportunities for members to come in and pray throughout the week after she went missing on Sunday 4th August. 

They will now host a public mass on Thursday at 8pm. 

The Archdiocese of Southwark said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we received the news today of the discovery of the body of Nora Quoirin, who disappeared whilst on holiday with her family in Malaysia.

“Little can take away the desolation that is experienced at the loss of a loved one. However, at this most painful of times the Catholic community wishes to extend its prayerful support to Nora’s family in heartfelt love and compassion: we walk alongside them as they grieve her loss.

“Mindful of their sadness, we also pray for the comfort of those who have been involved in the search for Nora, the parishioners of St Bede’s RC Church, Clapham Park, where the family attend Mass, as well as school friends and staff.

“God is in all things and his grace is with us in all circumstances. We commend Nora to God’s tender care, asking him also to pour out peace, consolation and healing on those that mourn her this day.

“We respectfully ask that the family and friends of Nora are granted privacy at this time.”