EXCLUSIVE: Yorkshire threaten to sue a key witness in the ECB’s racism hearing next week if they give evidence on behalf of ex-England captain Michael Vaughan, despite the county no longer being involved in the case
- Yorkshire have sent a legal letter to a former senior employee at Headingley
- It comes despite no longer being involved in the case after pleading guilty
- The club is also refusing to disclose evidence to Michael Vaughan’s legal team
Yorkshire have threatened to sue a key defence witness in the ECB’s racism hearing taking place next week if they reveal information about their time at the club.
In another remarkable development it is understood that the club have sent a legal letter to a former senior employee at Headingley who has been listed as a potential witness, in which they threaten action if they give evidence on behalf of former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Yorkshire’s behaviour is all the more extraordinary as they are no longer involved in the case having pleaded guilty to four charges brought by the ECB, one of which involved the deliberate destruction of evidence, as Sportsmail revealed earlier this week.
The club had been a co-defendant alongside Vaughan and six other former Yorkshire players, but appear more concerned with assisting the prosecution, who have charged Vaughan with using racist language towards Azeem Rafiq 14 years ago.
Yorkshire are also refusing to disclose evidence to Vaughan’s legal team which are still in their possession and relates to conversations between the club and other key witnesses.
Yorkshire have threatened to sue a key defence witness in the ECB’s racism hearing next week
The club is also refusing to disclose evidence to former England captain Michael Vaughan’s legal team which are still in their possession
The county’s tactics appear to being orchestrated by chairman Lord Kamlesh Patel
The county’s tactics appear to being orchestrated by Lord Kamlesh Patel despite the fact that he is due to step down as chairman next month.
In a statement released yesterday in response to Sportsmail’s story about the destruction of evidence Yorkshire were at pains to exonerate Patel from any blame.
‘After 5 November 2021 it was discovered that emails and documents, both held electronically by the Club and in paper copy, had been irretrievably deleted from both servers and laptops and otherwise destroyed,’ the statement read.
‘After a thorough independent investigation it was established that the deletion and destruction of documents date from a time period prior to the appointment of Lord Patel and relate to the allegations of racism and the Club’s response to those allegations. The club is not prepared to conjecture publicly as to why this occurred, who was responsible or the motivation for doing so.’
The racism hearing is due to begin next Wednesday, when former England bowlers Matthew Hoggard and Tim Bresnan will be among six ex-Yorkshire players tried in their absence having withdrawn from the process. The ECB’s case against Vaughan is expected to take place next Thursday and Friday.
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