Smyth moved to South Africa after he was barred from re-entering Zimbabwe, where he abused boys at summer camps

The evangelical Christian barrister John Smyth abused as many 130 boys and young men in the UK, Zimbabwe and possibly other African countries but an independent review has said there remains little concrete information on his time in South Africa.

The review into the Anglican church’s handling of Smyth’s abuses said he might have been brought to justice had Justin Welby, who on Tuesday announced he would step down as archbishop of Canterbury , formally reported him to the police when he found out in 2013.