Essex County Cricket Club (Essex CCC) listened carefully to our former player Jahid Ahmed today as he shared his experience during his time at the Club with the DCMS Select Committee.
As referenced in the hearing, Essex CCC has commissioned an independent investigation and report from Katharine Newton KC to ensure that any person who considers that they suffered racist or discriminatory behaviour while at Essex CCC could be heard within a formal process, so that any and all issues raised can be addressed, and recommendations made to the Club can be acted on.
We informed the Chair and the members of the DCMS Select Committee, as well as Mr Ahmed, of the status of the independent investigation into these historical accusations of racism. The Club is determined to demonstrate zero tolerance to discrimination of any sort and the highest standards of good governance.
Mr Ahmed has been interviewed during the investigation and we thank him for speaking to Ms Newton KC. In the interest of fairness, Ms Newton KC has conducted the most thorough process in which any person named has been offered the chance to explain their position.
As the investigation is close to completion and it is the Club’s intention – through a commitment to transparency – that the report will be published to its fullest extent possible, it would therefore be inappropriate to prejudge any of its findings or make any further comment.
