Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne resigns over Adam Johnson child abuse case

Johnson was found guilty of one charge of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl and pleaded guilty to two more charges including grooming the same victim

Margaret Byrne, Sunderland’s chief executive, is reportedly staying at a villa in Portugal (PA)

Margaret Byrne has resigned from her role as Sunderland chief executive with immediate effect, amid reports that she was facing the sack due to the fallout from Adam Johnson’s conviction for sexual activity and grooming a 15-year-old girl.

Byrne confirmed her decision on Tuesday afternoon, in which she admitted that her decision to allow Johnson to continue playing for the Premier League club after he informed officials that he had kissed the teenager was a “serious mistake”.

"I recognise that, as CEO, my involvement with Mr Johnson and the decision to allow him to continue to represent Sunderland was serious mistake,” Byrne said.

In a lengthy statement, Byrne outlined her role in the decision to initially suspend Johnson, then reinstate him to the playing squad two weeks later when he had not been charged.

“In light of recent speculation and media coverage I wish to clarify a number of points relating to my handling of the Adam Johnson issue,” Byrne said.

“I first met with police representatives after Mr Johnson had been arrested and whilst he was still in custody.

“At this time they outlined the nature of the allegations but did not go into detail as he had not been interviewed or charged at this point.

“After this meeting with the police I took the decision to suspend Mr Johnson, which was agreed by the club's Board and chairman.

“This suspension was lifted after two weeks, after the club's position was considered with external legal advisers and the PFA.”

However, Byrne goes on to reveal that she discovered that Johnson had admitted to kissing the 15-year-old girl via a sound recording that was sent to her by Orlando Pownall QC, the lawyer that Byrne organised for Johnson to meet after he requested her help in finding legal representation.

“Because I had recommended Mr Pownall, I attended part of the introductory meeting at which Mr Pownall met with Mr Johnson,” Byrne continued.

“This meeting took place on 4 May, 2015.

“After this meeting, Mr Pownall sent me a note to forward to Mr Johnson which recorded, amongst other things, that Mr Johnson had kissed the victim and communicated with her.

“I did not share this information with anybody including the board of Sunderland AFC.

“In the following days, Mr Johnson engaged Mr Pownall and changed his legal team and he confirmed to me that he was intending to defend each charge.

“He told me that he was confident of a successful outcome.

“I did not meet Mr Pownall again and I played no part in respect of plea decisions that he made with his legal team.

“Contrary to what has been suggested, I did not understand that Mr Johnson intended to change his plea at trial or at all.

“I was astounded when he did plead guilty.”

Adam Johnson was allowed to represent Sunderland despite being on trial (Getty Images)

A statement was soon issued on the official Sunderland website, in which the board confirmed that they had accepted Byrne’s resignation and labelled her “accountable” for Johnson’s ability to continue to play for the club.

“The Board of Sunderland AFC has today accepted the resignation of Margaret Byrne,” a Sunderland statement read.

“Margaret, in her role as CEO, was responsible for the running of the club. She was also accountable for the actions taken by the club in relation to Mr Johnson. Sunderland AFC acknowledges that Margaret's intentions have always been to act in the best interests of the club, however it has become clear through our own internal investigations that in this instance decisions have been taken by Margaret in error.

“Whilst swift and decisive action was taken to terminate Mr Johnson’s employment upon his guilty plea, decisions taken prior to this, including the decision not to suspend him for a second time pending the outcome of the trial, were wrong. In light of what has been acknowledged by Margaret as a serious error of judgment on her part, we have undertaken a full review of the club’s decision-making processes to ensure that there can be no such mistakes in the future.

“Throughout this deeply regretful situation, we recognise that one devoted young fan and her family have been very badly let down, first and foremost by Mr Johnson and his despicable actions, but also by the club they support. We are so very sorry for this.

“Mr Johnson lied to the club; he also lied to our fans and they have every right to feel aggrieved by this. Lessons have been learned and we hope that the club and its fans can move forward from this together.”