The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, attended the camp and knew the barrister. He issued an “unreserved and unequivocal” apology on behalf of the Church of England in 2017, admitting that it had failed to report the allegations when they came to light as far back as 1982.

“At Winchester, most attendees were drawn from the members of a religious students’ group called the ‘Christian Forum’, which was particularly prominent at the College in the 1970s and 1980s,” the 197-page report said.

Smyth, who died in 2018, “gained access to the College as a guest speaker at events hosted by the evangelical student group, the Christian Forum”.

By the mid-seventies, the membership of the Christian Forum was about 100 pupils, meaning nearly a sixth of Winchester students were involved in the society which was dominated by a “charismatic” Smyth.

“The inner circle of the Christian Forum which formed around Smyth in the 1970s and early 1980s shares many features of a cult. Its members showed signs of what would today be described as radicalisation,” the review said.

“Multiple staff members, including the headmaster, were aware that Smyth was in close contact with boys in the Christian Forum and that he had a powerful influence over them”.