What did Ollie Robinson say in tweets to get England ban as ECB agrees to social media review? What has Prime Minister Boris Johnson said?
Ollie Robinsons brief England career could be over as he faces an investigation into racist and sexist tweets he posted in the past. Robinson made his Test debut last week in Englands draw with New Zealand at Lords. getty 4 Robinson has been suspended by the ECB and dropped from Englands second Test against New Zealand pending an investigation into tweets posted in 2012 and 2013  He took 7 for 101 in the match but has now left the England camp with his international future in disarray. The 27-year-old has been suspended after posts from 2012 and 2013 resurfaced during his debut. The pace bowler has apologised and has said he is embarrassed and ashamed and is now the centre of a full ECB review. Robinson posted a series of tweets as a teenager, which were revealed on his first day as an England player on Wednesday, June 2. In 2012, Robinson tweeted using the n-word and another post said: My new muslim friend is the bomb.  There were also sexist comments about females who play video games actually tend to have more sex. The rediscovery of the tweets marred his England debut and have left a dark shadow over Joe Roots side. The historical tweets could not have been more embarrassing for England because they were discovered on a day when before play the players had a moment of unity. This involved wearing T-shirts standing against all forms of discrimination, including racism and sexism. Robinson faces disciplinary action after being forced to apologise. He said he did not realise the posts were still on his timeline, but insisted afterwards that he is not racist or sexist. He said: 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 Im not racist and Im not sexist. 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. Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this. Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England cricket team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer. I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my team-mates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport. I dont want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my team-mates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support. I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry and I have certainly learned my lesson today.  Getty 4 Robinsons debut was overshadowed by past tweets  Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said the ECB went over the top in suspending Robinson and has asked them to think again. Dowden said the tweets were offensive and wrong but also a decade old and written by a teenager. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed Dowdens comments. A spokesperson for Mr Johnson said: The PM is supportive of Oliver Dowdens comments. As Dowden set out, these were comments made more than a decade ago written by someone as a teenager and for which theyve rightly apologised.  Robinson, who was sacked by Yorkshire in 2014 for unprofessional conduct, left the England camp on Sunday and will not play in the Second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Thursday, June 19. The England and Wales Cricket Board has since opened the door to possible disciplinary sanctions after announcing a social media review to address any historical issues in the wake of the Robinson saga. Getty Images - Getty 4 England captain Root says Robinson has learned a very hard lesson  A statement read: The board agreed to the executives recommendation for a social media review to address any historical issues, remind individuals of their personal responsibilities going forward, and help them learn lessons along the way. The board was clear that this process would not prevent further disciplinary action in the future, should that be required, under the applicable processes, but it is hoped that the game can emerge from this difficult period stronger and determined to be more inclusive and welcoming to all.  England captain Root insisted Robinson has learned a very hard lesson and promised England will continue to try to make cricket as inclusive as possible. He said: Ollie has learned a very hard lesson. Hes fronted up to the outside world and fronted up to us as a dressing-room. He has a lot of remorse that you can tell is genuine and dealt with a huge array of emotions. As a squad, we have to keep looking to be better and make the game as inclusive and diverse as possible. Most read in Cricket wellbeing Ollie Robinson 'taking a short break from cricket' after England suspension sanctions Robinson should 'lose career' for racist and sexist tweets, says former cricketer OPEN Flintoff reveals eating disorder struggles after being fat-shamed during early career overjoyed 'Mental but brilliant' - England hero explains just how it feels to win World Cup On The Sporting Couch: Psychotherapist Gary Bloom talks to Chris Lewis  This team is committed to doing that. Were not saying were perfect but there are areas we want to learn about and hopefully we can make a real difference. On the field, Ollie had an exceptional debut. Hes contributed well with the bat, his performances with the ball have been excellent. He showed high levels of skill and definitely has the game that can be successful in Test cricket. But the stuff that happened off the field is not acceptable within our game. We have to try to better the environment and make everyone feel comfortable to play a wonderful sport. I couldnt believe the tweets but the most important thing is Ollie is part of this dressing-room and we had to support him. We had to give him an opportunity to learn and understand he has to do better.