Justin Welby, the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, has resigned after an investigation found that he failed to inform police about serial physical and sexual abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps as soon as he became aware of it.

Pressure had been building on the Archbishop of Canterbury after release of the finding kindled anger about a lack of accountability at the highest reaches of the church. Some members of the General Synod, the church's national assembly, started a petition calling for Welby to step down, saying he had "lost the confidence of his clergy."

"I believe that stepping aside is in the best interests of the Church of England, which I dearly love and which I have been honoured to serve," he said in a statement.

Welby's position has put him in the spotlight in the past two years, in church ceremonies surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles.

More to come