'All racism is despicable': PM says government action needed over racism in sport
Alongside racism, ITV News Deputy Politics Editor Anushka Asthana heard from Boris Johnson about his revised rail plan and the Tory sleaze row
Boris Johnson has said he feels "horror" over recent revelations from former cricketer Azeem Rafiq about racism in his sport and suggested the government needs to intervene in order to combat abuse.
The prime minister told ITV News that racism is "despicable" after hearing testimony from Mr Rafiq, who said he was racially abused "constantly" during his two spells at Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC).
Mr Johnson praised the cricketer for speaking out at a Parliamentary committee hearing, saying "I salute him" for revealing the extent of racism in cricket.
He said "clubs have to stamp it out, but there is also a responsibility for government to look at what is happening" regarding racial abuse in sport, as he pointed to the "ugliness" of Euro 2020.
"We've got to make sure that not just Yorkshire but sport cleans up its act because its plain that there's too much of this kind of thing," he added.
PM: 'I felt horror at what was happening in the cricket club'
The prevalence of racism in cricket was laid bare by Mr Rafiq's harrowing testimony, during which he fought back tears while recalling his "humiliating" experience.
Giving evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee, the 30-year-old said he felt "isolated" while at Yorkshire Cricket Club and heard "constant use of the word ‘P***’".
Asked whether Mr Rafiq's testimony had made him reflect on any of his own previous comments, the PM said: "Racism of any kind is absolutely despicable."
PM refuses to apologise over the the handling of MP Owen Paterson's lobbying scandal
In his interview with Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana the PM repeatedly refused to apologise for his handling of the Owen Paterson debacle, following which a corruption debate has ensued in Parliament.
The PM had initially attempted to overhaul Parliament's standards process in order to allow Mr Paterson to appeal his recommended Commons suspension, but following a furious public response he backed down and decided the rules regulating MPs should be tightened.
It has been reported that he told the Tory 1922 Committee that “on a clear road I crashed the car into a ditch” in an apparent admission of his mistakes - but he would not apologise when speaking to ITV News.
After being repeatedly asked to apologise, he said: "What people do want to see is the government getting on with investing in the infrastructure and transforming people’s lives."
Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana on speaking to the Prime Minister about issues including the recent sleaze scandal
Mr Johnson also defended his revised plan for rail in the North and Midlands, which has seen high speed rail targets in those regions scrapped.
It was earlier confirmed that the eastern leg of HS2, which would have connected Leeds with London via Birmingham and the East Midlands, will no longer be built.
And plans to connect Leeds with Manchester via Bradford, under the wider Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme, will also be abandoned.
Mr Johnson said an investment of £96 billion - a "stupendous sum of money" - will will help improve services in the Midlands and northern England ten years sooner than if ministers had pressed ahead with earlier plans.
Defending his move to back down on HS2, the PM said: "You cannot cut through Britain, just go around building colossal new mega lines through countryside through towns through villages at the cost of hundreds of millions of pounds that takes decades to deliver."