Dowden said the tweets were “offensive and wrong” but “also a decade old and written by a teenager”…reports Asian Lite News.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed comments made by the Culture Secretary that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) went “over the top” in suspending bowler England pace bowler Ollie Robinson for historical racist and sexist tweets.
Robinson, 27, has been dropped for the second Test, which begins at Edgbaston on Thursday, pending an investigation, the BBC reported.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden asked the ECB to “think again”, it was reported.
Dowden said the tweets were “offensive and wrong” but “also a decade old and written by a teenager”.
Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the Johnson was “supportive” of Oliver Dowden’s comments. “As Dowden set out, these were comments made more than a decade ago written by someone as a teenager and for which they’ve rightly apologised.”
A statement from the ECB reads: “England and Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation following historic tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013.”
“He will not be available for selection for the LV= Insurance second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday 10 June. Robinson will leave the England camp immediately and return to his county,” added the statement.
Robinson, who plays for Sussex, took seven wickets against New Zealand at Lord’s in the first Test that ended in a draw on Sunday. Robinson also scored 42.
England skipper Joe Root said after the match, “From a performance point of view, on the field, he has had an exceptional debut. With regards to the stuff that has happened off the field, it is not acceptable within our game — we all know that.
Root added, “He has dealt with a huge array of emotions over this last week and he has got to learn some hard lessons.”
Robinson had last week apologised for his tweets between 2012 and 2014 that led to controversy.
“On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public. I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist,” he had said in a statement.
“I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets,” added the right-arm bowler Robinson in the statement.
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