Markus Andrews

Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq delivered an emotional and explosive account of his harrowing experience of racism in cricket to MPs on Tuesday, with a series of new and shocking allegations that implicate a handful of high-profile former England players.During a lengthy appearance in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee he offered up a damning, and damaging, account of his life in the English game before the publication of a written statement escalated matters even further.Over the course of what could go down as a watershed day for the sport, ex-internationals Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, Alex Hales and Gary Ballance had all been subject to fresh claims of racial discrimination that paint a torrid picture of how Rafiq’s dream career turned into a battle against depression.In his published witness statement from a now-settled employment tribunal with Yorkshire, Rafiq said that Bresnan’s treatment of him led to “suicidal thoughts” in 2017, with a later apology from Bresnan described by Rafiq as “lip service”.Elsewhere he restated an existing allegation against former England captain Michael Vaughan and also aired a long list of complaints against Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon and head coach Andrew Gale. Neither of the pair are currently active in their posts, with Moxon signed off due to a stress-related illness and Gale suspended pending an investigation into an offensive historic tweet.Rafiq’s attempts to raise allegations internally at the county fell on deaf ears more than three years ago, but an independent panel was eventually commissioned in 2020 following a series of media interviews. Its report has been roundly criticised by those who have seen it – with DCMS committee chair Julian Knight deriding it as “a Venn diagram of stupidity” – and led to Yorkshire’s controversial conclusion that no staff members should face disciplinary action.Rafiq said he wished to become “the voice of the voiceless” as he reflected on cricket’s wider problems around race, making it clear that he felt the shortcomings go right to the very top.As well as going into disturbing details of his time at Headingley, the 30-year-old claimed Ballance’s derogatory use of the term ‘Kevin’ as a blanket term for all people of colour was “an open secret in the England dressing room”. He further alleged that another former England batter, Alex Hales, had named his dog Kevin because it was black.Ballance has previously admitted using a “racial slur” against Rafiq over the course of a deep friendship but the latter rejected that assertion. Instead he says Ballance coined the unwanted and offensive nickname “Raffa the kaffir” and would “constantly talk down to me and make racist jokes, designed to undermine me and make me feel small”. Examples involved references to corner shops, Sheikhs and being related to other Asian men.Ballance is accused of repeatedly calling Rafiq ‘P***’, an allegation that is also levelled individually at Hoggard, Bresnan and Gale.Hoggard is also said to have used the phrase “elephant washer”, subjecting Rafiq to such abuse “on a daily basis…all day, every day” and making players of Asian heritage sit together in the changing room. During his oral evidence, Rafiq credited Hoggard with reaching out to apologise.No such mitigation was offered for Bresnan, of whom Rafiq wrote: “Tim frequently made racist comments and was unduly harsh towards me compared to white British players, which became so unbearable that I made a formal complaint against him in 2017.”Bresnan later apologised unreservedly for “any part I played in contributing to Azeem Rafiq’s experience of being bullied” but stressed the accusation he frequently made racist comments was “absolutely not true”.Gale is also alleged to have used a variety of racial slurs as well using his leadership positions to subject Rafiq to “discriminatory treatment and bullying” which held back his career.The majority of Rafiq’s claims centre around his two stints as a Yorkshire player between 2008 and 2018, with notable exceptions for Jason Gillespie’s reign as head coach and a month-long loan spell at Derbyshire, but a graphic episode from his youth was also described.Rafiq revealed that as an aspiring 15-year-old club cricketer he had been restrained in a car and force-fed alcohol by a former Yorkshire and Hampshire player. As a Muslim this contravened his religious beliefs, though he later admitted he took up drinking at Yorkshire.“I got pinned down at my local cricket club and had red wine poured down my throat, literally down my throat,” he said.“I (then) didn’t touch alcohol until about 2012 and around that time I felt I had to do that to fit in. I wasn’t perfect, there are things I did which I felt I had to do to achieve my dreams. I deeply regret that but it has nothing to do with racism. The game as a whole has a problem, with listening to the victim. There is no ‘yeah, but’ with racism; there is no ‘two sides’ to racism.”Asked if he could identify a single individual who had stood up for him or called out acts of racism at the time, he was unable to summon a name, adding: “You had people who were openly racist and you had the bystanders. No-one felt it was important.”Expanding on Ballance’s use of the word ‘Kevin’, Rafiq explained: “Kevin was something Gary used to describe anyone of colour in a very derogatory manner. It was an open secret in the England dressing room.“Anyone who came across Gary would know that was a phrase he would use to describe people of colour. Gary and Alex Hales got really close to each other when they played for England together. I wasn’t present in that dressing room, but what I understand (is) that Alex went on to name his dog ‘Kevin’ because it was black. It’s disgusting how much of a joke it was.”On England captain Joe Root’s recent assertion that he could not recall any examples of racism at Yorkshire, Rafiq found it hard to reconcile his positive view of the individual with the culture that existed during their time together at Yorkshire.“Rooty is a good man. He never engaged in racist language,” he said.“I found it hurtful because Rooty was Gary’s housemate and had been involved in a lot of the socialising where I was called a ‘P***’. It shows how normal it was that even a good man like him doesn’t see it for what it was. It’s not going to affect Joe, but it’s something I remember every day.”Former England coach and veteran commentator David Lloyd issued an apology on Twitter after Rafiq indicated he had exchanged disparaging messages about him in private. Lloyd, whose employers Sky have said they are investigating the comments, wrote: “I deeply regret my actions, and I apologise most sincerely to Azeem and to the Asian cricket community for doing this, and for any offence caused.”The England and Wales Cricket Board has appointed an independent commission for equity in cricket (ICEC), chaired by Cindy Butts, charged with examining the issue of race in the game.Its call for evidence is now open, but Rafiq was sceptical about that process, stating: “Action is needed and needed now. To be honest, we are sick and tired of these equity commissions and inquiries. Sick and tired.“All we are asking for is equality, to be treated fairly regardless of the colour of our skin or the religion we follow. It’s 2021, we shouldn’t even be having this conversation. No-one has ever been a whistleblower before, no-one has ever had the courage to come forward because of the fear of not being believed. Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes I do.“Maybe what was written for me was this. I’m a massive believer that everything happens for a reason. I hope in five years’ time we are going to see a big change, that I did something far bigger than any runs or any wickets I got.”The PA news agency has attempted to contact those involved for comment. Michael Vaughan issued a statement on Monday categorically denying accusations he had told four Asian team-mates “there’s too many of your lot, we need to do something about it”.PA More

Boris Johnson has been accused of a “kneejerk” attempt to rewrite MPs’ standards rules, after he rushed out plans to ban consultancy work in a bid to stave off more negative headlines on sleaze.The prime minister caved in to pressure to take action on MPs’ second jobs on the eve of a potentially embarrassing Commons vote on Wednesday on Labour demands for an end to MPs taking paid work as political consultants and lobbyists.In an apparent attempt to neutralise the Labour assault after a fortnight of revelations about Tory second jobs, Mr Johnson announced he was backing the move, but would go further by also blocking MPs from posts which take up so much time that they stop them carrying out their parliamentary and constituency duties. The latter measure was apparently prompted by publicity surrounding Sir Geoffrey Cox hundreds of hours’ work a year as a commercial barrister.The moves were key recommendations of a 2018 report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL), and  anti-corruption campaigners said it was “extraordinary” that the PM should be acting on it now after ignoring it for the past three years – and just weeks before a separate review of the Westminster code of conduct is due to be published by the Commons Standards Committee.And Labour accused Mr Johnson of “dirty tricks”, claiming that an amendment to its motion tabled by the PM would “water down” reforms by making the vote non-binding and failing to be specific about the changes he would implement.It came after Tory poll ratings plunged following Mr Johnson’s botched attempt to protect MP Owen Paterson from punishment for sleaze, and on the eve of Wednesday’s televised grilling of the PM on standards and ethics by senior parliamentarians on the Commons Liaison Committee.Backbench Tories warned of a rebellion by some of Mr Johnson’s most senior MPs, who stand to lose tens of thousands of pounds a year from lucrative advisory work.But some of those with the highest outside earnings told The Independent that they did not believe the PM’s crackdown would force them to give up their second jobs, which rely not on their positions as MPs but expertise gained outside politics.“My constituents always come first and the advisory work I do is based on my commercial experience outside of the House of Commons,” said former minister Andrew Mitchell, who lists earnings totalling £182,000 in the register of members’ interests. “It results from my career both in the City as a strategy advisor and in the insurance industry.”Mr Johnson’s plans were set out in a letter to the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, released just as Sir Keir Starmer was kicking off a press conference in which he challenged the PM to back Labour’s proposals.The PM said it was “a matter of regret” that the CSPL recommendations had not yet been implemented and said he would like to see them adopted by the Commons “as a matter of urgency”.But Standards Committee chair Chris Bryant said Downing Street were “flapping around like headless chickens” rather than waiting for the results of the year-long inquiry by his panel of MPs and lay members, to which the PM had refused to give evidence.“These are not simple issues, which is why I think it’s really important that you don’t have government ministers in sudden kneejerk reaction to a crisis legislating in a way which we might end up regretting,” he said.When Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg gave evidence to the inquiry in April, he was “pushing in quite a different direction” from the prime minister’s current proposals, said Mr Bryant.Susan Hawley, executive director at Spotlight on Corruption, told The Independent: “The government should be looking to implement the full recommendations made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 2018, some of which were highlighted as urgent by the committee – including bringing the register of MPs’ interests into the digital age and making it fully accessible.“It is frankly extraordinary that the advice of this independent, taxpayer-funded body which provides expert advice based on full public consultations is being so routinely ignored.”Sir Keir said Mr Johnson’s conversion to tighter rules on second jobs was “a significant victory” for Labour, but said he would press ahead with Wednesday’s vote in order to ensure the commitment is confirmed in parliament. He said any attempt by Mr Johnson to dodge the debate would “pile contempt upon contempt”.Labour will also demand the release of papers relating to Mr Paterson’s work for PPE suppliers Randox, as well as an end to the “revolving door” of government ministers going to work for companies in sectors where they had previously legislated.Downing Street sources indicated that Conservatives will table an amendment to Labour’s motion, which would allow Tory MPs to back the reforms without having to vote in favour of an opposition proposition.But Labour’s shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: “Boris Johnson has been backed into a corner and one minute accepts our motion in a letter to the Speaker, but then comes forward with an amendment that will remove the central part that guarantees that action will be taken. This is typical Tory dirty tricks.”Meanwhile, senior Tories warned of backbench anger over the PM’s plans.“There is a certain amount of disgruntlement over second jobs,” one former cabinet minister told The Independent. “I think it’s really important that parliament has people with a hinterland, not just professional politicians. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for people to have outside interests if they are not adversely affecting their parliamentary work.“Boris will have some hard questions to answer at the meeting of the 1922 (committee of backbench Tories) on Wednesday evening.”But veteran backbencher Michael Fabricant told The Independent that voters would take revenge on any MP who stood up against reform of the rules now.“I doubt there will be a rebellion, but if there were it would be a small sectional interest,” he said. “Frankly, the writing has been on the wold for the last five years and anyone who resists this would be very foolish and the electorate will take their vengeance.”SNP Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald MP said Mr Johnson had “published these shoddy, half-baked proposals to distract media scrutiny from his government”.But she said: “The reality is they wouldn’t begin to scratch the surface of dealing with the huge problem of Tory sleaze, cronyism and corruption that has engulfed Westminster.” More

The Brexit deal may be done and dusted, but the repercussions are far from over. The UK’s messy exit from the EU continues to cause enormous upheaval.Ten months on from the withdrawal agreement, Downing Street is still wrangling with Brussels over arrangements for Northern Ireland – hoping that some of the signed commitments can be ripped up and rewritten.Britain is struggling with labour shortages and supply chain chaos, European citizens in the UK face unresolved problems proving their legal status, and the mood music from the latest London-Brussels is forever changing. Keeping up can feel like a full-time job.But don’t worry: The Independent is here to help. We are launching a new, weekly Brexit and beyond newsletter to help keep our readers up to date with all the latest news, analysis and opinion.We’ll be updating you every Thursday morning on the latest developments, as well as looking ahead at what’s likely to happen next.Our free email newsletter will fill you in on the latest post-Brexit impacts and what Britain’s status outside the single market and customs union means for our food supplies, bank balances and the business environment.We’ll also be filling you in on the latest from London and Brussels, as Brexit minister Lord Frost threatens to trigger Article 16, suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol and risk an ugly trade war with the EU.As well as providing the crucial details, the newsletter will bring in views from all sides of the debate to give some insight from those who look at Brexit as a positive as well as those who see the downsides.Signing up to The Independent’s Brexit and Beyond email is easy, it takes just one click in the box at the top of this article after filling out your email address or you can click here. Should you ever change your mind, each email comes with a link to unsubscribe. More

England’s courts are so run-down they are losing days of work to collapsing ceilings, broken lift and Arctic conditions, the Lord Chief Justice has said.Lord Burnett, the head of the judiciary in England and Wales, told MPs conditions on the courts estate were so bad that it was often “not reasonable” to expect people to work in “simply intolerable conditions”.He told the Commons Justice committee that an “eye-watering” hundreds of millions of pounds needed to be spent fixing the buildings if there was any hope of clearing a case backlog.”HM Courts and Tribunals Service will be able to produce statistics, I don’t doubt, if asked, about days lost to maintenance problems,” he told the committee in a hearing on Tuesday.”You will remember there was a survey done of the whole of the court estate some years ago with a view to identifying what needed to be spent on it. “The figures were eye-watering: many hundreds of millions of pounds… but there is the need to spend hundreds of millions of pounds before too long on the court estate otherwise it’s just going to get worse. “It’s no different from our homes: if you don’t clean the gutters out you get waters in and then you’re going to have to replaster the walls. It’s as simple as that.”Lord Burnett, who has held the top judicial role since 2017, said he was “fairly confident” that the poor state of the courts estate was making it harder to recruit judges, and that the situation was also “very demoralising for staff”.Paul Maynard, a Conservative MP who sits on the committee who was previously a junior minister at the ministry of justice, added that he was “yet to see” a court that was in good condition.The Lord Chief Justice replied: “To hear a former parliamentary under-secretary of state from the Ministry of Justice say he’s never seen a court in good conditions is something…”The head of the judiciary added: “There is a direct impact: when the ceiling falls down in a court, as it does from time to time, that court is out of action for some time. “Every winter – we haven’t had the cold snap yet – but every winter we lose hearings because heating is broken and there is a limit to how much you can expect people to sit in courts in coats, bobble hats and in gloves. You just can’t do that. In the summer we have the reverse problem: that in many of our buildings the cooling systems break down and they become intolerable.”Every year we have lifts breaking down which take ages to repair, which mean courts can’t be used. So there is a direct effect of the capacity of the system to conduct business.”But I think that’s only part of it: the much more fundamental point is that it is simply not reasonable to expect the public, our staff or our judges, or the professionals, all those who come to court, to endure conditions which are simply intolerable.”In May this year the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched as search for a contractor to do £500 million in construction and repair works, though the work was mainly focused on prisons.An HMCTS spokesperson said: “We are investing £150 million to fund repairs and building improvements – ensuring our courts can work at the maximum possible capacity. A further £477 million will allow us to drive down backlogs as we recover from the pandemic.” More

A proposed oil field in Scottish waters “should not get the green light”, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Speaking on Tuesday afternoon the first minister told MSPs that the new field, at Cambo off Shetland, “could not and should not pass any rigorous climate assessment”.It comes after climate campaigners urged her to get off the fence on the issue. She had previously said the development should be reassessed but stopped short of saying it should be cancelled.The decision on drilling is not down to the Scottish government, but the UK authorities. Westminster’s Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has recently said the new field should “100%” be given the go-ahead.The oil field, which is situated around 75 miles west of Shetland, was originally licensed for exploration in 2001. Drilling is expected to start as early as next year and continue for 25 years if the Oil and Gas Authority green-lights the move.Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: “I don’t think Cambo should get the green light.”I don’t think we can go on extracting oil and gas forever, and I don’t think we can continue to give the go ahead to new oil fields.”I have set out a proposal for a climate assessment and I think the presumption would be that Cambo could not and should not pass any rigorous climate assessment.”The decision is politically significant as the SNP has in the past talked up Scotland’s oil industry and linked it to independence. Friends of the East Scotland said the decision was “very welcome” but Scottish Conservative MSP Liam Kerr said the first minister’s party had “deserted the industry they once cited as the cornerstone of their economic case for independence”. More

Boris Johnson walked past the hunger-striking husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and ignored him, it has been claimed.In a parliamentary debate on Tuesday about the British-Iranian dual national’s case, her local MP Tulip Siddiq read out a statement from her husband.Richard Radcliffe ended his hunger strike after 21 days camped outside the Foreign Office without food in protest at British government inaction on the case.In the statement he said: “Today marks day 2,054 of Nazanin’s detention. We are approaching our sixth Christmas apart. A little girl has been without her mother for five and a half years now. It did not have to be like this.”The Prime Minister did not visit me on hunger strike, though he did pass me one day without coming over. His Government continues to put British citizens in harm’s way, Nazanin’s story shames this country.”Ms Siddiq, who has taken up the case, said she was “increasingly frustrated” with the government’s approach. She said ministers acknowledged that they owed Iran £400 million and that there was “no question about the fact that the debt is linked to Nazanin’s case”.She told MPs: “Richard Radcliffe went on hunger strike because he felt he had no other option, and he went on hunger strike for three weeks outside the Foreign Office in order to capture the attention of the upper echelons of government.”He did it because he thinks the upper echelons of government are not helping with his wife’s plight. I’m very disappointed to say that in the three weeks that Richard was outside the Foreign Office starving himself the prime minister of our country did not come to visit him.”The Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn also blasted the prime minister for having “made an enormous blunder while he was giving evidence to parliament”. While foreign secretary Mr Johnson claimed Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was teaching journalism while in the country – she says she was in fact visiting family. More

Boris Johnson has given in to pressure to tighten anti-sleaze rules for MPs, proposing a ban on acting as “paid political consultants or lobbyists”.The move – which came moments before a Keir Starmer speech attacking the prime minister’s refusal to act – follows a week of No 10 declining to say if he backed the crackdown.In a letter to the Commons Speaker, Mr Johnson also proposed that the code of conduct for MPs should be updated.He also said he wanted a situation where “MPs who are prioritising outside interests over their constituents are investigated and appropriately punished”.It comes two weeks after Mr Johnson himself tried to rip up Commons sleaze rules – to protect Owen Paterson from punishment – before being forced into a humiliating retreat.At his press conference, Keir Starmer hailed “a very significant victory for the Labour party”, which would not have happened if it hadn’t “forced that vote”, to be staged on Wednesday.The vote was set to challenge Conservatives MPs to outlaw second jobs – potentially forcing the prime minister into the embarrassing position of whipping them to oppose it.However, Mr Johnson’s climbdown did not appear to go as far as Labour’s position – a ban on second jobs, except in the public sector – suggesting a Commons clash still looms.Labour is also demanding the release of all the minutes of meetings between the government and Randox, which employed ex-minister Mr Paterson as a consultant.In his letter to the Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, Mr Johnson said it was vital to protect the Commons “reputation” by “ensuring the rules which apply to MPs are up to date, effective and appropriately rigorous”.He said he was “a matter of regret” that the Commons had not adopted a watchdog’s recommendations, three years ago, of a tougher code of conduct – although the government is not believed to argued for them.Backing the changes now, the prime minister pointed out they would ensure that any MP’s outside role would “be within reasonable limits and should not present them from fully carrying out their range of duties”.They would ban “any paid work to provide services as a parliamentary strategist, adviser or consultant, for example, advising on parliamentary affairs or on how to influence parliament and its members”.The beefed-up code should state: “MPs should never accept any payment or offers of employment to act as political or parliamentary consultants or advisers.”Labour MPs were quick to ridicule Mr Johnson proposing the crackdown, Wes Streeting, the shadow child poverty secretary, tweeted: “Arsonist calls for fire to be put out.”And Catherine West, the shadow Europe minister, said: “Two weeks ago Boris Johnson and his MPs voted to protect an MP who broke the rules. The proposals he’s been forced to make today are welcome, but they don’t go far enough.” More

A chastened British government admitted Tuesday that it was wrong to try to block a lawmaker’s suspension for breaching ethics rules, an episode that both ruling party and opposition legislators said had tarnished the country’s political system. Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg who is a member of the government, said it had been “a mistake” to try to force an overhaul of Parliament’s standards process rather than suspend fellow Conservative Owen Paterson for breaking lobbying rules.“We expect all members to abide by the prevailing rules of conduct. Paid lobbying is wrong, and members found guilty of this should pay the necessary penalties,” Rees-Mogg said.The House of Commons standards committee recommended that Paterson be suspended for 30 days for lobbying on behalf of two companies that paid him more than 100,000 pounds ($137,000) a year. Usually, such decisions are rubber-stamped by lawmakers, but the government ordered Conservative legislators this month to oppose the suspension and instead call for an overhaul of Parliament’s standards process.The government changed course the next day after a furious backlash. Paterson resigned from Parliament but lawmakers on Tuesday formally endorsed his censure. Labour lawmaker Thangam Debbonaire said the government had treated the rules with “disdain, frankly incompetence, and a total absence of leadership.”Former Prime Minister Theresa May, a Conservative, said the government’s behavior had been “ill-judged and just plain wrong.”“Let’s be clear: this is not a party political issue,” May said. “Damage has been done to all members of Parliament and to Parliament as a whole.” The Paterson case has fueled the latest allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative government don’t follow rules that apply to everyone else. Johnson himself has been criticized for accepting expensive vacations on the Caribbean island of Mustique and in Spain. He also faces investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog over the source of the money that was used to refurbish his apartment in the prime minister’s official Downing Street residenceThe often-lucrative second jobs held by lawmakers — largely, but not exclusively Conservative ones – has caused mounting anger More