Prime Minister David Cameron has said he has forgiven Leicester Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi for playing a 'bunny ears' prank on him during a visit to Downing Street.
The 22-year-old made the gesture with two fingers behind Cameron's head while posing for a photo with British and Irish Lions players on Monday.
Tuilagi is writing a personal letter of apology to the Mr Cameron for the incident, but the Prime Minister has tweeted to say there is no reason to be sorry.
"No need to apologise. I know it was just a bit of fun," Cameron said.
Manu decided to write the letter after a photograph of the prank became an online sensation after it was tweeted on Monday night. Hundreds of comments have been made on Twitter about the prank by people around the world, with many dismissing the cheeky stunt as bit of fun and others criticising the player. Richard Cockerill, director of rugby at Leicester Tigers, said the club was not going to discipline Manu. "It's just stupid, isn't it," he said. "He's a young lad but he should know better. "I have reminded him of his responsibilities this morning. "I understand he apologised on Twitter but he is writing a personal letter to the Prime Minister to apologise for his behaviour, and rightly so. "He's in a privileged position and it's a very privileged thing to be able to go down to Downing Street and have that visit. "To do something as a bit of Jack the lad, he obviously meant no harm but clearly the profile that he has, you can't do that sort of thing. "I am probably more disappointed than anything else – as soon as he does it he knows he shouldn't have done it. He needs to understand that he's in the glare of the media the whole time, and certainly the Prime Minister is." He added: "Manu knows he's done wrong, he admitted it, he's put his hand up and publicly apologised and he will privately do so by writing to the Prime Minister. "That was Manu's decision." Fellow Lions, England and Tigers star Ben Youngs tweeted a picture of Manu giving Mr Cameron "bunny ears" last night. He posted: "The man @Manutuilagi just couldn't stop himself." But within hours, the picture had been withdrawn from Twitter and Manu had apologised on the social networking site. Manu posted: "Apologies for messing around on Lions photo. No offence intended. Great day at Downing Street. Thanks to Prime Minister for hosting us." Gloucester fly-half Freddie Burns initially tweeted: "Great bottle from Manu Tuilagi!" However, he later added: "Was not condoning Manu's actions in my tweet yesterday. Was just my immediate reaction to seeing the picture and was a poor tweet on my part." Tom Varndell, of the London Wasps, said: "Naughty boy @Manutuilagi !! But u did make me smile. Only you!" However, there were some who failed to see the funny side, including former England hooker and rugby pundit Brian Moore. He told talkSPORT: "My real objection is, it wasn't very inventive. "People are saying they are offended. Are they really offended, or is it more a case of Tuilagi being an absolute prat again and taking the attention away from his team-mates? "He has been a complete and utter prat. He ought to grow up, it's as simple as that. "But people saying they are offended - are they really offended? "The authorities, I'm sure, will do what they should do and say, 'Manu, everyone thinks you are a two-year old, do you really want that? Now go away and grow up please'." Retired England scrum-half Matt Dawson was even more scathing. He posted on Twitter: "Pls explain why doing bunny ears is funny on any photo. All it show is the bunny is more famous than u and u want the limelight. #insecure." An England RFU spokesperson said: "Manu has apologised for his inappropriate behaviour and for any offence this may have caused. "He has been reminded of his obligations in regard to the core values of rugby, which include respect and discipline." A spokesman for the Prime Minister's office said: "There has been an apology. That is all we have to say." He would not comment on the matter further. Manu and fellow Tigers stars Ben and Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling and Tom Croft were at the Downing Street reception as part of the Irish and British Lions squad that won a series in Australia..@Manutuilagi it was great to welcome you and the @lionsofficial team to No10. No need to apologise, I know it was just a bit of fun.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 17, 2013
