Victims of the sexual abuse that led to the resignation of the leader of the Church of England say the institution's second-in-command should also go.

Victims' advocate Jasvinder Sanghera told the BBC Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, should resign over his handling of the allegations that forced the resignation of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Welby announced his intention to resign on Nov 12, after a report into abuse perpetrated by barrister and church insider John Smyth said the abuse was known to church leaders as early as 1982, but not reported to the police.

The scathing report, known as the Makin Review, said Welby "could and should have" reported concerns about Smyth after he took over the top job in 2013.

But the report said the church "participated in an active cover-up", to prevent its reputation being damaged, meaning Smyth, who abused more than 100 boys and men during the 1970s and 1980s, was not investigated until 2017, after a TV documentary aired allegations.

Smyth died in South Africa in 2018 without facing justice.

"Anybody in a senior leadership position has to have trust and transparency, and you certainly need to have the trust and confidence of victims and survivors harmed by members of the clergy," Sanghera told the broadcaster. "It's not just my call. This is the call of many individuals who have been harmed by members of the clergy."

Sanghera served as a victims' advocate on the Church of England's Independent Safeguarding Board until it was disbanded in June 2023.

The church responded by saying Cottrell has worked hard to ensure there is no place for abuse within the institution and that he "believes the future of church safeguarding needs independent structures and scrutiny while ensuring that it also remains everyone's responsibility".

Welby, who led proceedings at the crowning of King Charles III, will stand down after his replacement is found. He began the process by formally asking the king for permission to step down.

The king, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, will appoint Welby's replacement, after the Crown Nominations Commission makes a recommendation.