Yorkshire Cricket Club chairman Roger Hutton has announced his resignation in the wake of racism allegations by former player Azeem Rafiq.

He said it will be effective immediately and he “apologised unreservedly” to Rafiq.

Hutton, who joined the club 18 months after the player left, in 2020 said his “frustration has been shared” by all non-executive members of the board – some of whom have also now resigned.

Despite never meeting Rafiq he has now opted to take a share of responsibility for the response to claims of racism, which have been in the public domain for more than a year

In an explosive statement, he said: “There has been a constant unwillingness from the executive members of the board and senior management at the club to apologise and to accept racism and to look forward.”

He is now calling on executive members of the board to resign amid claims he had been unable to persuade them to “recognise the gravity of the situation and show care and contrition”.

He added: “I want to be clear that when I was made aware of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations, I immediately reached out to the ECB to ask for their help and intervention to support a robust inquiry.

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“I was saddened when they declined to help as I felt it was a matter of great importance for the game as a whole. It is a matter of record that I have continually expressed my frustration at the ECB’s reluctance to act.”

On Thursday, the ECB banned the club indefinitely from hosting international or major matches after its “wholly unacceptable” handling of the racial harassment claims.

The cricket governing body said: “Given recent events, it is clear there are serious questions regarding the governance and management of Yorkshire CCC. The club’s failure in relation to actions and responses to their own report represents a significant breach of its obligations to the game.

“As a governing body with duties to act for all in cricket, the ECB Board reaffirmed its commitment to taking decisions in the best interests of the whole game. It also agreed that sanctions including, but not limited to, financial and future major match allocations may be considered at the conclusion of our investigations.

“In the meantime, YCCC are suspended from hosting international or major matches until it has clearly demonstrated that it can meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and First Class County.”

An independent report found Radiq had been the victim of “racial harassment and bullying” at the club.

The panel determined repeated use of the word “P***” against the spinner was delivered “in the spirit of friendly banter”.

Gary Ballance admitted using a racial slur against his ex-Yorkshire teammate and said he regretted using the word.

Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Vaughan has been drawn into the row amid claims he made racist remarks toward Rafiq and his other Asian Yorkshire teammates over a decade ago.

It was claimed in 2009 ahead of a match against Nottinghamshire Vaughan said to Rafiq and two other Asian players there are “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it”.

However, Vaughan has said he “completely and categorically” denies he said this.

The club was due to hold an emergency meeting today after a number of sponsors cut ties with them.

Hutton was this week called to appear in front of the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee to explain the club’s handling of the claims, and he said he will still attend despite resigning.

As well as the DCMS committee session, which has been set for December 16, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said “heads should roll” at the club and a cohort of 36 Yorkshire MPs and metro mayors – including former Labour leader Ed Miliband – demanded the England and Wales Cricket Board take decisive action in its role as national governing body.

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