Trevor Sinclair issues apology over Queen Elizabeth II tweet as talkSPORT take him off the air and launch investigation

The former Blackpool and England man, now a talkSPORT pundit, has been taken off the air after tweeting that ‘racism was allowed to thrive' during The Queen’s reign.

Sinclair, 49, also claimed that "black and brown" people should not mourn the monarch’s death.

The outburst was posted on Twitter barely an hour after Her Majesty’s passing was announced by the Royal Family.

After his Twitter account was briefly deleted, Sinclair returned with an apology.

He posted: “My tweet yesterday was ill-timed at a time when the royal family, and many around the world were grieving for the Queen.

“I apologise for any offence caused to those mourning The Queen.”

Sinclair then followed that up on Saturday by posting a picture of himself out running with the comment: “It’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s finding the strength to get back up and go again #MentalHealthAwareness”

The one-time Lancaster City assistant manager had tweeted: “Racism was outlawed in England in the 60’s & its been allowed to thrive so why should black & brown mourn!! #queen”

His comments were met with widespread condemnation, with many pointing to his own conviction for racially abusing a police officer in 2018.

The former winger lives on the Fylde Coast having spent the first four years of his playing career with the Seasiders.

talkSPORT has sought to distance itself from Sinclair’s remarks and says he will not appear on air whilst an investigation takes place.

Posting on its Twitter account, the company said: ““Trevor Sinclair will not be on air while we carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances and timing of his tweet.

“While we respect the right of Trevor Sinclair to express his opinion on his personal twitter account, talkSPORT does not endorse the tweet.”

Among those to react angrily was Blackpool legend and former PNE player Brett Ormerod, who said: “Wow, no words trev, you clearly have a short memory.

“The queen has been a beacon of hope for everything and everyone, very bad timing.

“I really don’t agree with you on this and you’re the one with the racism conviction, not her. You’re so wrong on this.”