Former West Ham player Anton Ferdinand criticised technology companies for a lack of action on online abuse at a Home Affairs Committee inquiry on Wednesday.

Ferdinand was one of several ex-football players to give evidence at the inquiry.

“Social media is like a drug,” he said. “It is built to make you addicted to it. You can’t put it down once you start scrolling. There’s a mental health issue of not being able to escape it. My worry is, what are the social media companies waiting for?

“"Are they waiting for a high-profile footballer to kill themselves, or a member of their family to commit suicide? Is that what they're waiting for? Because if they're waiting for that, it's too late.

"This comes down to if they really want to make change? So far, their words are that they want to, but their actions are different."

Other witnesses at the inquiry included former players Marvin Sordell and Lianne Sanderson.

“We’re heading down a very dangerous path,” said Sordell. “We can’t just wait for something tragic to happen.”

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