The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Church of England leaders that their failure to deal with child sexual abuse is "a knife in our soul".

Speaking at the opening of the General Synod in York on Friday, the Most Rev Justin Welby told an audience of hundreds of synod members that there is much more progress to be made in the wake of the safeguarding scandal.

He said that "every time the Archbishop of York or I see another case where there's a falling short of our response, it is a knife in our soul".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, along with Dr John Sentamu, are due to give evidence at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) later this week.

The Archbishops are the two most senior members of the Church of England. Previous findings from IICSA have already concluded that the Church's response to sexual abuse allegations was "marked by secrecy". This investigation into the Anglican Church is currently assessing the appropriateness of safeguarding and child-protection policies and practices.

It is also considering the adequacy of the Past Cases Review of the Church of England and the Historic Cases Review of the Church in Wales.

In his comments, at Synod on Monday, the Archbishop of Canterbury - who conducted the christening of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son, Archie - was responding to a request for time to debate safeguarding.