Ban soccer player yobs, says MP

And he accused England manager Terry Venables and the FA of mounting a cover up to protect the culprits who caused £5,000 worth of damage to the Jumbo jet flight back from Hong Kong.

Mr Lewis says the authorities should seek to find out who was responsible and ban them from playing in the Euro 96 championships or any other international match.

The Labour back bencher and Manchester United fan said: "It is a cover-up.

"But going back before then, Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham should have been sent packing home because of their antics in a nightclub.

"They are ambassadors for Britain to whom more attention is paid abroad than politicians or diplomats .

"Because of their yobbish behaviour - with their shirts ripped they have damaged the image of Britain abroad.

"They should not be in that state in public shortly before a major international championship. They should be banned from Euro 96 and forever playing for England again as should those responsible for the damage on the aeroplane if they can be identified. It is all absolutely disgraceful." "They were setting no example at all to the fans. I think that Euro 96 will go off peacefully but if it does not, these people bear heavy responsibility."

Manager Terry Venables thought the matter was resolved when he said after his 24-hour investigation that the players accepted collective responsibility and the matter would now be dealt with internally.

Last night the waters were muddied still further when Football Association chairman Sir Bert Millichip appeared to suggest Venables was forced into that course of action because none of the players would take the blame.

He said: "I understand that no-one has admitted any responsibility for it. David Davies (FA director of communications) told me that and that is why they decided on taking collective responsibility. It's not a question of whether I approve of it - I have to accept it."

His comments suggest that Venables had no option but to spread the blame for the unsavoury episode rather than pin it on the guilty men. The cost of damage to two TV screens and a table on flight CX251 which brought the players back from their Far East tour to Heathrow last Tuesday is to be shared.

A statement issued by Venables last night said: "The England squad has accepted collective responsibility for what has happened. The matter is now being dealt with internally. Financial penalties will be imposed. The players have expressed their sincere regret over the incident," he said.

"Three of the players were very angry that they had taken the blame publicly - and without justification they believe - for the reported damage on the aeroplane. They told me they were seeking legal advice on compensation for the harm to their reputations. "The England squad has accepted collective responsibility for what has happened. The matter is now being dealt with internally. Financial penalties will be imposed. The players have expressed their sincere regret."

Venables stressed: "This is the first time I have had any complaints about the behaviour of senior England players while I've been in charge."

But angry Tory MP David Wilshire, whose Spelthorne constituency includes part of Heathrow, demanded that those responsible should be booted out of the England squad for the tournament.

He said: "This is a splendid cover-up. They should tell us exactly who was responsible and exactly how much they have been fined.

"I still believe the people responsible for that activity should be kept out of the England team, irrespective of how much damage that would do to our chances."

Menzies Campbell MP, Liberal Democrat spokesman on sport, said:

"Parents of children who follow the England team will be appalled if it is true that no player would own up to causing damage on the plane home.

"What kind of example do international players set if they are not willing to take responsibility for their own actions?"

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