Rio Ferdinand has spoken to Watford’s MP about the impact that racial abuse has on victims.

The former England and Manchester United defender was in Parliament on Thursday to speak to a joint committee of MPs which has been tasked with reviewing the Online Safety Bill.

Dean Russell, MP for Watford, has been appointed to the committee which is scrutinising the legislation.

It includes new measures to help safeguard young people and clamp down on unacceptable abuse online.

Following a question from Mr Russell regarding the human impact, Ferdinand said that being on the receiving end of racial abuse “does hurt” and has an impact on both a person’s self-esteem and mental health.

He also felt that companies must do more to address how easy it is for abuse to be shared.

Ferdinand also shared that it has a wider impact on the victim’s families and that he had to “explain to his children over breakfast what the monkey emoji means in that context”.

He said: “For me having to do that when there’s AI and resources available for these companies to be able to deal with these situations so that I as a parent don’t have to go down this road and explain that.

“You’d like to think that those people would put those things in place.”

Ferdinand added that until such behaviour is addressed online, it will continue to happen inside football stadiums.

He said he was racially abused at a game recently and “so from personal experience it is becoming more normal”.

After speaking to Ferdinand, Mr Russell said: “I would like to thank Rio Ferdinand and all the witnesses for taking the time to share their experiences. We need to ensure a clear message that racial abuse is simply unacceptable, whether in person or online and I welcome the government’s commitment to the Online Safety Bill.

“It is a privilege to sit on the Online Safety Bill committee. Social media is an integral part of everyday life for so many people.

“Nearly nine in ten UK adults and 99 per cent of 12- to 15-year-olds are online so we cannot ignore the very real harms which people face. The internet has improved our lives in so many ways, but not everybody has a positive experience, and we must address this."