The Yorkshire Post has been accused of a “campaign to discredit and intimidate” a former Yorkshire cricketer who blew the whistle on racism at his club and has since had to leave the UK due to abuse.
Ex-cricketer Azeem Rafiq and cricket journalist George Dobell both made similar accusations in front of a DCMS Committee hearing on racism in cricket on Tuesday morning. Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel gave evidence about the abuse he has received after stories were published.
Yorkshire Post editor James Mitchinson has responded that the allegations were “scurrilous and unfounded” and that his newspaper has “applied the same rules of objectivity, impartiality and professionalism in seeking to tell all sides of the story”.
Rafiq left the UK this autumn after a continuing backlash to the racism scandal that began when he first spoke of “deep-rooted” racism at Yorkshire in 2020 and filed a legal complaint against the club. Disciplinary proceedings against a number of individuals are due to be held shortly.
Rafiq said on Tuesday he has been subjected to attacks for over a year and that he was recently given 24/7 security by the England and Wales Cricket Board. He said: “If I was to pick one reason why all this has happened unfortunately I would have to say it was the Yorkshire Post’s reporting.”
Asked by Conservative MP Giles Watling how he felt about “attacks” by the National World-owned newspaper, Rafiq said: “Where do I start? I think pretty early on...
From claims that TMC members were caught by the CRPF in West Bengal to an old, unrelated video falsely shared as a clip of PM Modi, here are five viral pieces of fake news that Team WebQoof debunk...