The Dutch Olympic team have explicitly admitted that they are shielding Steven van de Velde, the beach volleyball player who made his Games debut here on Sunday despite being convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19, from talking publicly about his past.

“We are protecting a convicted child rapist, yes,” said press attache John van Vliet after Van de Velde was allowed to swerve media duties after the event. “To do his sport as best as possible, at a tournament he qualified for.”

It was a staggering statement on a day unlike any the Olympics had seen. Van de Velde, 29, sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison on three counts of raping a child he had met on Facebook, was roundly booed as he emerged on court for his first match in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, which he and playing partner Matthew Immers would lose to Italy. But the more extraordinary scenes came afterwards, as Van de Velde was ushered quickly away by three security guards, leaving Immers and Van Vliet to face a withering inquisition by more than 50 journalists.

While all athletes are required under International Olympic Committee rules to make themselves available to the media after competing, Van Vliet acknowledged that a special dispensation had been made for Van de Velde. “Definitely a different situation for Steven has been created,” he said. “We are very much aware that if we bring Steven out here, it won’t be about sport or his performance. There was a time before this, at least 100 tournaments in beach volleyball, where this never came up. He never had to do anything about it. So, we wanted to create the environment we are used to and not make it extra-special on a stage which is even bigger for these players.”

But a central issue is that Olympians are meant to be held to a higher standard than at other tournaments. All athletes in Paris are required to sign a declaration promising that they will act as “role models”. Given the nature of his crime, Van de Velde will likely fall, in the eyes of many, very far short of that description.

“The general matter of sex convictions or sex-related crime is definitely a much bigger issue than sport,” Van Vliet acknowledged. “But in his case, we’ve got a person who has been convicted, who did his sentence, who did everything afterwards that he can do to be able to compete again.”

Although arrangements have been made for Van de Velde to stay away from the athletes’ village, the Dutch delegation disclosed that he was still coming into their compound for team meetings. As bodyguards swiftly removed him from the venue to avoid scrutiny, his partner Immers, 23, was left to offer a highly uncomfortable defence of his involvement at the Games.

“He had his punishment,” Immers said. “And now, he’s really kind. For me, that’s a big example that you can grow. What happened in the past, it’s not good, of course.” Asked whether Van de Velde had ever expressed remorse for his dark history in private conversations, he replied: “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t explain it. We just want to focus on now.”

Two men have died in a light aircraft crash in North Yorkshire.

Emergency services were called to the scene after the aircraft, a two-seater light aeroplane, crashed in a field in Thorganby, near Selby, on Sunday morning.

The two men, in their 20s, are believed to be the pilot and a passenger, North Yorkshire Police said.

The force said it was working with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch to launch a full investigation into the circumstances around the incident.

Road closures remain in place at the scene while emergency services continue to deal with the incident.

A statement from the force said: “We were called to an incident involving a light aircraft at a rural location in Thorganby, Selby, at around 9.50am.

“A two-seater light aeroplane with two occupants had crashed in a field.

“Sadly, two men in their 20s believed to be the pilot and passenger have been pronounced dead.

“Their next of kin have been told and formal identification processes are currently underway. No further injuries have been reported.”

Yorkshire Ambulance Service said in a statement: “We received an emergency call at 9.50am on Sunday morning reporting an incident involving a light aircraft at Thorganby near York.

“A number of our resources have responded to the incident.”

An RAF squadron has dropped its “Crusaders” nickname following a complaint it is offensive to Muslims.

14 Squadron, one of the RAF’s longest-serving and most senior squadrons, achieved the moniker after its airmen flew sorties over Gaza and Palestine during the First World War.

However, crews have been ordered to remove any references to Crusaders around their hangar after a senior officer upheld an RAF crew member’s complaint insisting the term was insulting.

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims during the medieval era that began primarily to gain control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups.

The first 30 years of 14 Squadron’s history were closely linked to the Middle East. More recently, its pilots were involved in the first Gulf War in 1991 and Kosovo in 1999.

The change was sparked following a single complaint from an RAF crew member, according to the Mail on Sunday.

‘Part of our history’

One aviator told the newspaper: “If they’d have asked members of the squadron, rather than dictating this change, almost everyone would have been in favour of retaining ‘Crusaders’, because it is so much part of our history.

“There was never any prejudice or malice in the name. Every squadron, every regiment has a past. But if that past doesn’t suit current thinking it will be erased.”

Officials said the RAF’s focus must not be on giving prominence to offensive terms that may go against the values of the service, and that while nicknames may have a place in its history, some are “no longer appropriate”.

An RAF spokesman said: “As a modern and diverse service, our focus must be on not giving prominence to any offensive term that goes against the values of the Royal Air Force. Therefore, 14 Squadron have ceased using their historic unofficial nickname.

“The traditions and informal nicknames used by the RAF in the earlier days have a place in our history. However, some are no longer appropriate in the 21st Century.”

The RAF’s review of historic terminology is ongoing and there may be further changes, it is understood.